This Time, I'll Fight
by Perhelediel
Summary: -The door is still shut.- Kairi steps off the safety of Destiny Islands and into the ongoing struggle of light and dark, and the world between. Meanwhile, the Keyblade master continues the search... -PostCoM- NEW CHAPTER, FINALLY! 4-2-11
1. Return

**EDITED APRIL 13, 2007**

Hello, and welcome to my epic-in-the-making, This Time I'll Fight. I have some important details to share with those who stumble upon this story for the first time, since it's been around for such a long time.

1) This story was first published in **June of 2005**. In other words, _Kingdom Hearts II was not out yet_. Therefore, this is considered AU (Alternate Universe) because it does not take into account ANY of the events that occurred in the game.

2) As you can probably guess, the writing style from my sophomore year to my senior year has changed and improved vastly. So, please take the gradual transformation from decent writing to good writing in stride. :D I will be editing the first few chapters soon so they read a little easier.

3) This story begins from the ending of Chain of Memories and moves forward, **IGNORING THE PLOT OF KINGDOM HEARTS II**. Just thought I'd put that again, in capitals, so everyone knows. xD

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story. Moving on, here is Chapter One as it originally appeared!

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

Disclaimer: All characters are property of Square-Enix, Squaresoft, and Disney. Plotline is loosely based on what information has leaked about KH2, such as Another Side, Another Story: Deep Dive and the Jump Festa 2005 trailer.

---------

Chapter One

It was certainly not a morning she would call a "sailor's delight".

Rowing around the island would probably only result in a thorough soaking before she returned to dock. Selphie scanned the horizon, seeing ominous rainclouds gathering. She sat on the end of the pier, her nunchaku jump rope rolled around itself and resting in her lap.

She missed the children's island. She had woken up one morning, three months ago, to find it gone, undisturbed ocean right where it had used to be. The only evidence of it ever existing were the photos they'd taken there, and a few splintered pieces of what _used_ to be the dock washed up on shore like driftwood.

Selphie stood up, pacing across the wooden planks, swinging the rope of her small weapon around in a pinwheel. Silently deciding she'd rather risk it, she climbed down to the waterfront to untie her small rowboat. A rasping cough immediately to her right startled her out of her wits as she worked on the knot. She dropped the rope, glancing frantically around for the source of the noise.

Selphie saw a slight figure laying inside one of the other small boats. It rocked slightly as the person coughed again.

Slowly she approached. Curled up on her side, a girl in a purple skort and white camisole, and dark red hair masking her face, was fast asleep.

Selphie stared dumbly, not believing what she was seeing. Was it possible? She had been gone for so long, now to simply show up, asleep in her boat?

Carefully she leaned across the boat, and pushed the long red hair from the girl's face. Before she got a good look, the person's eyes flew open, and she sat bolt upright, startled out of sleep. Selphie shrieked, falling backwards into the dampened sand. The figure stumbled out of the boat, which had capsized in the commotion, and landed on her hands and knees.

"Kairi?!" Selphie cried, her eyes widening.

---------

"Let me get this straight..." Selphie said, on her stomach in a beanbag chair on her bedroom floor. "You...uh, lost your heart, and came back to life. Sora lost _his _heart, you brought _him _back to life. You're a princess...you've been to three worlds other than this one...and Sora...is some big hero with a giant key?"

She didn't like the wording, or the way that Selphie made it sound like complete idiocy, but Kairi nodded fro her spot on the bed, where she was on her stomach clutching a pillow to her chest.

"Jeez...if I didn't see that island disappear with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe any of it."

Kairi grinned, rolling over to stare upside down at the younger girl.

"So...what now, Kairi?"

Kairi pushed her long red bangs out of her eyes, groaning.

"Unnnghh...I don't know. I'm so mixed up."

She rolled back over and slid off the bed, onto the floor.

"I'm not even sure how I got here. I was in our secret base with Leon and Yuffie and Aerith...then they decided to go back to Hollow Bastion to see what was going on. I don't really know what happened after that. Sora came back once to check up on me. Then I was alone for a day or so...all of a sudden I was on this sandy platform in the middle of the darkness. This huge, dark void...but Sora came running up, and..."

She was blushing furiously. She flopped backwards onto the bed with the pillow over her face.

Selphie was slowly understanding. She grinned and yanked the pillow away from Kairi's burning face.

"You two _like_ each other, don't you?" she asked. Kairi's face blushed to an even deeper shade of red and Selphie shrieked, clapping her hand over her mouth.

"Oh my gosh...and to think I thought...you and Riku!...wait. What about Riku?" Selphie said all in one breath, regaining seriousness.

The smile faded from Kairi's face.

"Riku...Riku's lost his heart. I have no idea where he is. He...he tried to kill Sora to give me back my heart. Oh, he didn't know what he was doing," she said quickly, in response to the look of utter shock and revulsion on Selphie's face. "He was possessed. Last I saw him, he was...like a ghost. And, if Sora hadn't fought, Riku would have killed him. And then he would have brought me back only to kill me too."

Selphie sat back in the beanbag chair, staring at the ceiling.

"I'm sorry I asked," she said quietly.

Kairi smiled softly. "It's all right," she whispered.

Neither of them spoke for a few moments.

Selphie sat up quickly. "Kairi, I still can't believe...my gosh! You..." she held up one index finger. "...and Sora..." she held up the other. "I just..." She intertwined the fingers and dropped them into her lap.

She laughed. "It's so..._romantic_!" she cried, falling backwards and out of the beanbag chair.

Kairi giggled too, the color rising in her cheeks again, and she tossed another pillow at Selphie.

"Well, Miss Princess of Heart, you're back in your kingdom and I am your lady-in-waiting. What would Her Majesty like to do now?" Selphie said, regaining her balance and grinning.

"Uh...I dunno."

"Generous _and_ articulate," Selphie remarked, shaking her head, and grabbed Kairi by the forearm and led her out the door.

-------------

"So what're you going to do?"

Tidus was hitting Wakka's blitzball back and forth between his two palms. Wakka hung precariously from the paopu tree's nearly horizontal trunk, his flip-flops skimming the calm ocean. Selphie sat on the trunk of the tree, and Kairi stood leaning against a palm tree with one arm.

"Ugh...I don't know. It doesn't seem right for me to just sit here and wait for them."

She kicked at the base of the tree absentmindedly, her eyes to the sea.

"What do you say to this..." Wakka began, swinging his legs up and over the trunk and maneuvering back onto the small islet. "Sora and Riku are still out there somewhere, ya? And it's just a matter of gettin' up there?" He put both hands behind his head and stretched backward, his eyes searching the sky.

Kairi glanced at him. That odd habit of his reminded her painfully of Sora, when he used to do it.

Selphie looked up.

"What's the last thing you remember before you ended up in Hollow Mashing or whatever?"

"Hollow Bastion," Kairi corrected automatically. "And I told you before...I don't remember. I was in the Secret Place one second, there the next."

"That's it, then!" Tidus said, tossing the blitzball up in the air and kicking it to sea expertly.

"I'll go take a look..." Kairi said doubtfully, turning and walking slowly back up the pier.

------------

She ducked into the low tunnel that lead to the cavern in the hollow tree. The sun was finally beginning to peek through the clouds, and shafts of light played upon the floor as rays his the branching roots and pierced through.

She smiled softly as she emerged into its familiar warmth, and the sunbleached carvings seemed to shine clearer on the roughened walls in the filtered sunlight. She couldn't help it. Despite the fact that she was still in shock by all that had happened the past four days, the familiarity and the comfort of this place brought her nearly back to normal. She smiled wider, euphoria swelling within her. She admired the sloppy sketches on the wall, passing her hand along their shallow carving as she walked.

Kairi felt _older._ Her eyes had seen quite a lot since she'd last visited. This startling reminder of her long-past childhood was almost too crazy to contemplate.

She approached the great wooden door with dread, avoiding casting her gaze upon it. That door had been where it all began...

...and why it had all ended.

Instead, she looked down at the closest carving. She sank to her knees as her eyes fixed upon it, staring incredulously at the carving of Sora and herself. Her heart began beating painfully fast within her.

Someone had added to the drawing recently. Her fingers traced over the carving, and a fine powder rained onto the packed-dirt ground. It was fresh.

From the drawing of Sora there ran a sweeping tail ending in a hand holding a star-shaped something, connecting to Kairi's cariacature.

She felt her defenses breaking. A paopu fruit...?

A smile tilted her lips as she brought her trembling hand up to them, and laughed softly as she began to cry, a tear escaping down her cheek. She closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against the stone, an uncontrollable smile spread across her face.

This was too unreal. Now, Sora seemed like a distant memory, off in other worlds where she might never see him again, a hero she hardly knew.

But here, in this place, he was the friend she had known all her life, her best friend who wanted to keep her safe and who would never change. And he, perhaps...even felt the same new feelings she had for him.

She swallowed hard as the thought occured to her, a thrill of mingled euphoria and fear making her tremble. A slow warmth spread from her heart and her hand flew up to cover it, to protect it.

He would always be right there, with her always.

On impulse, she took a sharp rock from the floor, and etched in an outline of another paopu from her to him. She smiled as she slowly ducked out of the cavern and into the Islands' sun.

--------

_Interlude One  
_

_His eyes slowly fluttered open as the pressing darkness gave way to light around him. His surroundings slid in and out of focus._

_"Hello?" he slurred blearily, his senses returning rather reluctantly. He stretched out, but found himself closely confined to whatever he was standing in. Panic surged through him as full memory flooded back. He had been at the crossroads...an enigmatic man in a black hood..._

_Riku! Kairi!_

_The King! And where were Goofy and Donald?_

_Fully awake now, he forced his limbs as hard as he could against the cocoon-like chamber. Just as his muscles began to weaken with exhaustion, he was released. Out he tumbled onto a white marble floor, and his lip began to bleed as he collected himself._

_"Hey! What's going on here?" he shouted, his voice echoing in the chamber._

_"Sora?" said a voice softly behind him. He turned._

_A girl about his age and about a head shorter than he stood timidly in front of him, her blue eyes looking up at him through her blonde bangs._

_"Who are you?" he asked roughly, his frustration getting the better of him. The girl was visibly saddened by the question, though Sora couldn't understand why._

_"I'm Namine," she said. The look on her face was so wrenching that some of the blind panic left him and he softened._

_"Should I know you?" he asked._

_"No...actually, I'm glad you don't. That means it worked," she said, seeming to be convincing herself more than anything else._

_"What worked? What's going on?" He brought his gloved fingers to his temples, frantically trying to remember._

_"The moment you set foot in this castle, all your memories left you. I've just relinked them," Namine began. She swallowed hard and continued. "You've been asleep for nearly eight months."_

_Sora's heart skipped a beat._

_"Eight months?" he said faintly._

_She nodded fearfully. Every time he moved, she flinched. What was she so afraid of?_

_Eight months...anything could have happened in eight months! They had wasted too much time here..._

_Suddenly, an all-too-familiar squawk echoed in the great room. Donald's hands flailed as he tried to catch himself, rolling out of the large pod they had been sleeping in. He somersaulted onto the floor, his Violetta staff catching him behind the head as he regained balance. He stood up, brushing himself off and muttering to himself._

_"Sora!" he exclaimed, waddling toward him as fast as he could. "What's the big idea?"_

_Before he could answer, Goofy came toppling out of his pod, his large golden shield clattering away across the cold floor. He stood up, wobbling and scratching his head. He picked up the shield where it lay, and walking towards the group, slung it over his shoulder._

_"Gawrsh, it sure is bright in here," he remarked, glancing around, his eyelids half-closed and a bemused look on his face._

_Donald shook his fists. "You big palooka!" he quacked angrily, giving Goofy a sharp rap on the nose with his staff. Goofy stumbled, shaking his head, and his eyes opened wide and focused._

_"Sora! Where ya been?" he said, cuffing Sora on the shoulder with one gloved hand._

_The spiky-haired teen wasn't quite sure how to answer. He hardly knew, himself._

_"There isn't much time," Namine said, putting both arms behind the group and pushing them toward the door. One arm braced a large drawing pad against the small of Sora's back._

_"You'll need this to leave Castle Oblivion," she said, pushing a metallic card into Sora's gloved hand. "Use it at the door just ahead. It should let you through."_

_She fumbled with the lock for a moment and the door sprang open, revealing a long white corridor lined with vases._

_"Anything else we need to know?" Sora asked amusedly, smiling at the girl as he pulled his Keyblade off its attachments at his hip._

_"No..." Namine answered as Donald and Goofy began to walk away, down the hall. "You'll figure it out on your own."_

_Sora nodded to her and made as if to follow his friends, but Namine's fingers closed around his forearm._

_"Wait," she said softly, reaching inside the pocket of her white sundress. "You dropped this while you were sleeping. I thought you'd want it back."_

_She held up by its chain Kairi's good-luck charm, a blue and pink star held together with twine, with a scrawled-on smiley face on its uppermost point._

_He took it from her silently, looking over its simple beauty, relief spreading through him._

_"Thanks," he said finally, pocketing it. He turned and began to follow Donald and Goofy. As they reached the door out, he turned back to look at the thin figure standing on the threshold of the great hall._

_"I'm not really sure why, but I feel like I should remember you! If I can, I'll try and come back!" he called, grinning._

_Namine giggled and waved, and the door closed behind the trio. Amid her laughter, a tear of sorrow slid unheeded down her face and died on her lips._

_----------_

TO BE CONTINUED...

I actually really like how this chapter turned out. What do you guys think? Please rate and review! I LOVE REVIEWS!


	2. Escape

Alright, I'm back. A note about this chapter--I honestly couldn't come up with a plausible and believeable way for Kairi to leave the Destiny Islands without resorting to something silly like "_she found some gummi blocks and built a ship and flew away_!" I'm just not for that. So you're going to have to think way back, to your first trip to Hollow Bastion. Riku is interrogating the Beast on how he managed to get there withoutuse of the Heartless or a "vessel." Remember what the Beast replied? "I simply **believed**, nothing more to it." And with that, here's the next chapter of "This Time, I'll Fight". Please review!

There's a bit of language in this chapter. I'm considering changing the rating. Actually, I'm definitely going to be changing the rating soon, what with the next few chapters. Don't worry, it's nothing sexual, nothing too violent, none of that. It ISa SoraKai story, after all. I'm not planning on making this into a hot, passionate sexual romance story. This is going to be...well, for lack of a better term, a "simple and clean" love story. Sit tight.

And if you're waiting for the return of _certain characters_...don't worry, they'll wander in at some point. A KH story is never complete without...well, I'll leave it to your imagination.

EDIT! July 4 2005  
I want to sincerely apologize for the odd line about Cid later in the chapter that you might have noticed before. My sister played a prank on me. She had been reading my document before I posted the chapter and decided to add...well, a few words about Cid scratching his butt and picking his nose. I didn't realize she had saved it that way until I read the story over today. So I've fixed it...sorry about that! Bad sister!

* * *

Chapter Two: Escape

"On the lookout again?"

Kairi jumped slightly, startled by the sudden voice from behind. The smallest of the ocean waves lapped around her clunky school shoes, slowly soaking into her knee-high navy socks. A slight chill was in the October air.

Selphie appeared at her side, and gave the horizon a quick sweep with her emerald eyes. She looked up at the older girl, whose gaze was fixed on the sky.

"You okay?"

Kairi looked down thoughtfully, brushing her long bangs from her face.

"Yeah," she said finally. The Islands looked so beautiful in this light...pink and gold clouds drifting lazily above the setting sun, and making the sheen of the palms shimmer like the ocean.

"You know," Selphie began, sitting down in the sand to take her shoes off. "It's Murphy's law that they'll show up exactly when you're not expecting them, if you spend all your free time watching."

Kairi crossed her arms.

"You're probably right."

The last year had been uneventful. Kairi had taken up permanent residence at Sora's house, where his mother still lived in relative grief over the loss of her son. It had taken an entire evening of reassurance, but Kairi had managed to convince her that Sora was still alive and in good hands. She had even confided that Sora had sacrificed himself to save her on one occasion. Still, the childless mother had her doubts. But it was the maternal comfort that came with caring for Kairi like she had with her son that kept her spirits up.

They had all gone back to school the autumn after her return, but nothing was quite the same. Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie were really her only good friends. The rest of the kids at school thought of Kairi as a bit of a tangible impossibility--someone who had died and come back to life again. Plus, if the rumors were true, she was a _princess_. And not just a princess...one part of a group of seven from _other worlds_. They simply chose to give her peace, which translated to ignoring her. She had a secret, they knew...one they didn't care to know. The fear of losing the comforting presence of a home firmly tethered to the ground, unaffected by darkness and terror, was all the motivation they needed to not press their luck.

The cool breeze blew Kairi's hair forward and into her face. She brushed it back roughly.

"Why did I ever let this grow out?" she said, annoyed, pulling it back into a ponytail with the holder she had around her wrist.

Selphie grinned at her, and rubbed her hands together before clasping them under her and sitting on them.

"It's freezing out here," she commented. "Want to head back?"

"Yeah...I guess," Kairi consented, bending down to pick up her backpack and using her other hand to flatten her plaid kilt from flying up in the wind.

"KAI!" Selphie cried in a hissing whisper, reaching up to grab at the edge of Kairi's skirt, nearly shanking her as she tried to pull her down.

"What?" Kairi said, realizing the urgency, being yanked down onto the sand beside Selphie.

"Look!" the younger girl cried, pointing to the skies.

Kairi squinted in the direction of Selphie's finger. She threw up her hand to shield her eyes from the sunset's glare, but she could just barely see a brilliant streak of white making its way across the sky. And another! Smaller and farther away. Shooting stars...

Her eyes widened. Selphie's finger slowly curled back into her hand and she faltered, completely at loss for words.

Both were motionless for a long moment, the only sound being the soft sloshing of the ocean waves as the tide came in.

A smile tilted the corner of Kairi's lips.

"Selphie!" she cried, grabbing her friend by the shoulders, making the younger girl jump in fright at the sudden outburst. "The barriers...the barriers are gone! I can get out of here! I can...I can go find them!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Selphie objected, waving her hands in front of her face. "Hold on. What are you saying?"

"Come on!" Kairi said excitedly, grabbing Selphie's wrist.

* * *

He hadn't visited the Rising Falls since he was ten years old. But the sound of the rushing water and the soft scent of the flowering ivy that grew around the small island brought something back out of distant memory. 

Squall sat on the edge of one of the floating ice pillars, in deep thought.

Aerith and Yuffie had convinced him to take back his old name once Hollow Bastion was restored. But on a trip upstairs just two days ago, he had found the keyhole of the castle exposed again...and worse, a shadow heartless had appeared under his boot upon his inspection of the Grand Hall.

How could Sora have failed?

Squall stood up and picked up his gunblade. He wouldn't let the others know. He'd just go down to the Gummi Ship dock at the base of the falls, and find out what was going on.

He dropped lightly from step to step, sliding slightly across the top of one and stumbling. His Gunblade slipped from his grasp and fell to the solid ice below, burying itself to the hilt and sending shavings every which way.

He muttered angrily and dropped to the ground, wrenching the weapon out of the ice.

"Leon!"

A voice from behind made him yell in shock. He turned around. A teenage girl stood in the portal, shivering.

"Kairi? Is that you?"

"Yeah!"

"What the HELL are you doing here?"

He ran across the ice and leapt up onto the brick platform. Kairi grinned at him, her arms crossed tightly across her chest and her knees knocking together lightly from the cold.

"Come on, let's get you inside," he said, reaching out to rub her upper arms in attempt to warm her up. He took his jacket off and draped it around her slight frame and helped her up the frozen stairway.

"Want to tell me how you got here?" he asked very seriously as they walked.

* * *

"Oh my GOD!" 

Leon and Kairi had walked into the library only to have Yuffie come pelting towards the younger girl, to wrap her in a huge hug.

"Oh, man, I never thought I'd see you again! AAAH!"

Kairi laughed at the overly excited welcome, returning the hug. "Not too bad!" she answered as the ninja let go, beaming.

"Damn...it's been really lonely here, with everyone so much older than me. I missed you!"

Squall cleared his throat and crossed his arms, giving Yuffie a sardonic grin and a questioning look.

"I mean...not that it wasn't...one great, _fun-filled_ year with you, Squall!" the ninja countered, swinging her bent arm in front of her exaggeratedly. Squall snorted, cuffing Yuffie across the top of the head with one gloved hand as he passed by and disappeared around one of the tall bookshelves. She aimed a weak kick at his retreating form but connected with only air. She turned back to Kairi, grinning.

"How on earth did you get here? Last time I saw you, we were all camping out in Traverse Town!"

"I...I really have no idea. I saw a shooting star, and I knew that the worlds had become connected again..."

Yuffie grabbed Kairi's wrist.

"Hold that thought...tell it to these guys."

She pulled Kairi around the winding bookcases until she began to hear the light murmuring of a small group talking. Kairi couldn't help but stare as they began traipsing up the staircase. It all looked so familiar, somehow, but estranged at the same time...

They emerged onto the upper landing. Aerith sat on the desk, her boots barely brushing the floor. Leon had his back to a tall bookcase, and two people Kairi didn't know stood nearby: one, a spiky-haired blonde with serious eyes and dark clothing, and the other an older man with windswept hair and pilot's goggles balanced on his forehead.

A loud outburst of confused greetings came from the group, and Aerith turned her head as the two girls clambered off the top step. She smiled welcomingly at Kairi and held her hand out. The teenager grinned and walked forward and Aerith gave her a one-armed hug.

Leon stood up straight.

"Kairi, this is Cid Highwind," he said, gesturing to the older man nearby. Cid gave a mock salute and grinned, replacing both hands on his hips. "How 'ya doing, Kairi?" he asked. His lower jaw chewed moved forward, making the small piece of straw he had between his teeth shift.

"And this slacker here is Cloud...Cloud Strife," he said, giving the other a dig in thefoot with the toe of his boot. Cloud nodded, murmuring "Hello," and held out his hand, which Kairi shook.

There was an awkward silence.

"How is it that you got here, Kairi?" Aerith said gently, looking down at Kairi as the redhead got up onto the desk beside her.

Yuffie strode forward to sit on Aerith's other side. "She said she saw a shooting star...probably a gummi ship," the ninja answered for her, crossing her legs and planting her chin between her two fists.

"Kairi...was it a shooting star...or a disappearing one?" Cid asked, cocking his head.

"It didn't...disappear, I don't think," Kairi responded. "I watched it until I couldn't see it anymore, if that helps."

Leon nodded slowly. "Not a disappearing world...did you use a gummi ship, Kairi?"

"No," she said firmly. "This might sound silly...but I swear I brought myself here just by remembering you all."

Leon perked up at this. "Believing...?"

"There was one other person who managed this. Do you remember, Squall? The Beast?" Aerith asked.

"Yeah..." he replied, nodding.

Kairi was slowly understanding. "So you're saying...that by seeing the shooting star, I believed it was possible to find you all again...and that was enough to get me here?"

"You must not have made your thinkin' specific enough. You wanted to find 'yer friends' again," Cid remarked, grinning. "Aren't we special! But you found us, and not Sora."

The mention of Sora made Kairi's heart skip a beat. "Yeah, I guess..."

"What's going on here?" Yuffie asked frustratedly, leaning back and gripping the edges of the desk.

"I don't know..." Leon answered, shaking his head. "Well, we've been sitting here waiting for any news--preferably good news, but beggars can't be choosers. We may as well try to figure out where to go from here."

Kairi looked at the floor.

"What is it?" Aerith whispered as the group began to get up and leave, her arm around Kairi's shoulder.

"His voice...it's left me," Kairi said quietly. "Maybe that's why I can't find him. Not yet."

Aerith smiled sadly and led Kairi to the lift stop.

* * *

It looks up from here, I promise! In fact, I've been wanting to write the next chapter for ages...it's gonna be good! 

I've already written the ending chapters for this story, and man, wait and see what's in store for you guys! I'm really liking how it's turning out. Once again, please make good use of that purple button right below this. I LOVE REVIEWS!


	3. Hollow Bastion

Woohoo! New chapter. This one was fun to write. By looking at my other stories, you can probably tell that I don't write humorous stuff very often. This is my best attempt at a lighthearted chapter, and I hope at least some parts of it make you smile. It helps that Yuffie is such a cheerful and, well, teenager-ish type person. She makes bringing humor into a story much easier.

The story is finally taking shape. The next few plot events are set in stone. Hope you guys enjoy this one!

* * *

Chapter Three: Hollow Bastion

"You want a room? I mean, you've never had a proper stay here, have you?" Yuffie chuckled as they made their way through the winding halls.

"This here's my room…there's another empty one, with a door in between the two. We can be roommates!"

She turned an old-fashioned key in the lock and the door creaked open. Inside was a four-poster bed with green velvet hangings, a tall wardrobe, a cheerfully crackling fire in a large hearth, and a large oak desk in the corner. The stained-glass windows cast colorful patterns on the intricately woven rug on the polished wooden floor. Various weapons and clothes were strewn all over, the chair functioning mainly as a pincushion for her many ninja stars.

"Eh, it's nothing spectacular, but it beats that cramped little house in Traverse Town," she said, shrugging, making Kairi smile. She remembered it all too well.

"Can I borrow some pajamas or something?" Kairi asked, gazing around the room with interest.

"Of course you can. What _are_ you wearing, anyway?" Yuffie said, rummaging through an open drawer.

Kairi looked down, scrunching her nose. If she had a choice, she wouldn't have shown up in her school uniform. Though she did love her ribbed blue sweater…the only piece of clothing the school allowed without a monogram.

"My school uniform," she replied with a little noise of disgust. Yuffie laughed and tossed her a pair of flannel pants and a tank top.

"Guess you weren't prepared, then?" she asked, grinning, pulling on an oversized t-shirt over her tank top and stepping into the wardrobe, closing the door to change.

"Nope, guess I wasn't," Kairi answered, pulling off her sweater.

"Wait!" Yuffie said, bursting out of the wardrobe so fast that Kairi shrieked and fell off the bed in fright. "I have an idea!"

Kairi picked herself up off the floor, putting her elbows up on the bed and kneeling.

"Talk to me," she said cheerfully.

"You're not planning on staying here forever, right? I mean…you're gonna go look for your friends. For Sora," Yuffie mused, tapping her chin with one finger and cocking her head.

"And Riku," Kairi asserted.

"Well, then, you're going to need a killer outfit, aren't you?" Yuffie asked excitedly, grinning and stepping out of the wardrobe.

Kairi raised her eyebrows. Now, come to think of it, she couldn't exactly fight her way through _anything_ in her school uniform, could she?

Yuffie padded over to the heavy door, turning the doorknob and sticking her head in the hallway, looking back and forth.

"There's no one here to walk in on us…and the night is young," she said, closing the door. "Now, what have we got to deal with here?" She turned back to Kairi and put her hands on her hips, cocking her head.

Kairi stood up and revolved slowly on the spot, before striking an exaggerated supermodel pose, making the older girl laugh.

"Well, these sleeves'll do you no good, not if they get caught on something. I learned that the hard way," she began, picking up Kairi's sweater where it lay discarded on the bed. "And take that tie off. You'll strangle yourself."

Kairi grinned and yanked the plaid tie off, tossing it on the bed. She reached up and took her hair out of its ponytail holder, and there was a knock on the door.

"Kahin," Yuffie said, her teeth working on a stubborn thread near the seam of the sweater's sleeves and muffling the intended "Come in."

The door opened slightly and Aerith's head poked in. Her green eyes brightened.

"Is this what I think it is?" she said cheerfully, smiling.

"If you mean a fashion consultation, then yes," Yuffie chided, with a little noise of satisfaction when the sleeve of the sweater came clean off.

"I need all the help I can get!" Kairi said, playing along, standing up and brushing her hair back from her face. She shivered slightly, the fire being inadequate to keep her from getting a chill in her thin school blouse.

Aerith entered and closed the door, pulling her boots off and using the desk as support. She eyed Kairi critically, sizing her up with her piercing gaze.

"You'll probably need gloves. If you're going to have a sword, which I'm sure we can hook you up with," she said, grinning slightly, "your hands will get so calloused you won't even want to look at them."

She rummaged in one of Yuffie's open drawers as the ninja began yanking frustratedly at the other sleeve of Kairi's sweater. Aerith looked up and tossed Kairi a pair of fingerless leather gloves that fastened around the wrist. She put them on, flexing her long fingers and stretching the broken-in fabric.

The next two hours were spent with Yuffie and Aerith holding up various articles of clothing to Kairi's slim frame and tossing the rejects every which way, as the three girls chattered cheerfully and critiqued every combination presented. At one point, Aerith even had Kairi sit at the desk so she could give her hair a trim. It was nearly midnight before the ninja and the mage stood back with sighs of satisfaction, with Kairi completely dressed in their new arrangement.

She turned around in front of the mirror. Yuffie had somehow cleaned up the frayed edges of her blue school sweater, which was now sleeveless over her white blouse. Aerith had convinced the ninja to part with a pair of her favorite khaki shorts that fit Kairi with a bit of work. A white belt was fastened loosely around her hips, which as a special touch, had been touched up by sewing on a large piece of Kairi's old purple skirt with the scalloped hem that had come with her in the school duffel bag. She wore her warm navy knee socks she had come in, and Aerith had run to her room to fetch her a pair of high-laced brown boots that reached her mid-calf. All in all, she looked completely mismatched, yet inexplicably stylish.

Kairi leaned close to her reflection, brushing her now-shorter bangs out of her eyes. Her hair was nearly as short as it had been during the summer when she was 14, but she liked it that way now.

"Wow," she breathed, her voice making the mirror cloud in its close proximity. "How'd you do it?"

She turned to Yuffie and Aerith, both of which were standing triumphantly with arms crossed.

"Is any of this supposed to match?" she asked, laughing.

"Of course not!" Yuffie replied jauntily, putting her hands on her hips and grinning at Aerith.

"But that's okay," Aerith reassured her. "You're ready for anything in this outfit. Doesn't matter if it clashes."

Kairi beamed at them, and tried to strike what she thought of as a fearsome battle stance, making all three of them collapse on each other laughing.

* * *

Leon rummaged through the castle armory, pushing aside large metal shields and ridiculous-looking hinged helmets. All the swords he'd found were too big. 

Finally, he saw it: a three-foot-long sword, curved and somewhat elegant, curling around once to form a pointed tip. Its hilt was silver and wrapped in toughened leather, a large green stone set into its crown. Black carvings drew in lazy circles upon the mirrored surface of the dulled blade, spelling out words he didn't know nor cared to translate.

He picked up a sharpening-stone and forced his way back out of the musty and darkened chamber into the entrance hall.

Leon cursed under his breath. Squirming and sniveling near the fountain was a dark creature…yellow eyes, twitching antennae. His face curled into a scowl as he watched it shrink into the floor, a splash of darkest night moving like a shadow on the polished marble floor. The swordsman made a few quick strides across the hall before it emerged again. With a cry of fury, he hacked at it with the new sword until it exploded into wisps of darkness, leaving no trace behind.

Grunting, he lifted the blade and braced it behind his shoulder as he had always done, and pulled himself up onto the ledge, ignoring the stairs. He pushed into the library and closed the door securely behind him. No Heartless dared venture where more than one of the residents of Hollow Bastion gathered.

He ran up the stairs to the upper landing, where Cloud sat in the desk chair, leaning back so it supported him on two legs and his feet on the desk blotter, reading a beat-up old book on sword lore. His tattered red cloak masked the lower half of his face as his blue eyes flitted back and forth across the page. He looked up at Leon as he approached, a small grin tilting the corner of his lips when he saw the aggravated look on the other man's face and the rusty old sword over his shoulder.

"What happened to you?" he asked, shutting the book and swinging his feet off the desk.

"Heartless," Leon said curtly, pulling up another chair and sitting down to sharpen the blade.

Cloud frowned, folding his arms. "Where were they this time?" he asked, regaining seriousness.

"Entryway," Leon said shortly, running the stone along the edge of the blade, sparks flying with the friction.

"Ah…and are you going to start answering with more than one word or can I ask what that thing's for?" Cloud asked, grinning sardonically and dog-earing the page of the tome he had been reading.

"It's for Kairi," Leon answered, bringing the blade up close to his face and closing one eye to inspect his work. "I figured it couldn't hurt for her to have something to fight with, too."

Cloud grunted his agreement and looked around as he heard the loud crash that accompanied a lift stop's arrival. Yuffie came pelting out of the darkened hallway that led to the lift.

"Morning!"

She grinned at them jauntily, her hands at her accustomed place on her hips.

Leon stopped his work on the sword to look sarcastically up at Yuffie, grinning darkly. "What are you so hyper about? It's too early for you to be this energetic."

"Oh, nothing. We had a pajama party last night…that is, Aerith, Kairi, and I. Maybe we had a bit too much sugar," she said, giggling.

Aerith emerged from the lift stop, the heavy step of her boots preceding her entrance. She cleared her throat and put her hands behind her back.

"Presenting," she said regally, her seriousness getting the better of her and grinning. "Her royal majesty and princess of heart, Kairi!"

Kairi came out of the lift stop blushing furiously, as Yuffie ran over to her and clasped her hands in a the shape of a gun, putting back-to-back with her and making the two of them look like a bizarre parody of gun mages locked in battle.

Despite himself, Leon laughed and Cloud whistled. They had done a good job making Kairi look battle-ready, what with the gloves and the new haircut. Yuffie had even taken the liberty of fastening a kerchief around the crown of Kairi's head, making her look uncannily like her ninja friend.

Leon reached up and tugged at the knot at the base of Kairi's neck, making the kerchief slide off her face and onto the floor. "That's the only part she can do without," he said, grinning.

Yuffie gave a huff of indignation. "Hey, that was my idea!" She rounded on Leon, crossing her arms and leaning close to his face, a stern frown creasing her brow. Kairi leaned out behind the ninja, raising her eyebrows and mouthing "Thank you!" to the swordsman. Leon's lip twitched, and he gave a small smile.

"Eh, you look good enough without it," Yuffie conceded, turning her head to Kairi, but cuffing Leon behind the head with one gloved hand and receiving a sharp poke in her bare stomach in retaliation.

"You look great," Cloud said generously, sitting back in the desk chair.

Aerith stepped forward. "Why, thank you, sir. So do you," she said cheerfully, leaning forward and putting her hands on her knees and gazing into Cloud's face.

"I wasn't talking about you," he said sarcastically, catching on and smiling at Aerith. She gave him a wounded look in jest, and he patted his left knee. She grinned and sat in his lap, his hand finding hers and interlacing their fingers.

"I'm starved. Who wants breakfast?" Yuffie asked, stretching.

"I do!" Kairi piped up.

"Wait…first, this is for you," Leon said, standing up and passing the sword to Kairi, holding its hilt out to her.

Kairi gaped at the gleaming blade. She reached out and grasped the hilt, the leather of her gloves curving around it. It dropped slightly as Leon let go; she hadn't anticipated its weight. She held it up, her startlingly blue eyes looking over every inch with wonder.

She swung it tentatively, making Yuffie jump back to avoid the swipe, even though it hardly would have made a scratch with the force which Kairi struck.

She looked up at everyone incredulously, the look of astonishment on her face honest. "How do you use this thing?"

Everyone laughed, and Kairi smiled sheepishly.

* * *

Eh, it turned out all right. I would love reviews. This was a bit of a filler chapter--I promise, big plot events are coming very soon. Interlude Two will definitely show up in the next chapter. Please use that little purple button below! 


	4. The Grand Hall

Alright! YAY! Fourth chapter! And the longest one yet. I really am long-winded, I apologize. Well, hope you enjoy this chapter. Yay for battle scenes! I hope it's believeable.

I'm beginning to incorporate quotes from Deep Dive and Another Side, Another Story. You might have noticed the "His voice...it's left me" in the second chapter. See if you can find the quotes in this chapter.

Once again, I LOVE REVIEWS!

* * *

Chapter Four: The Grand Hall

"No. Nuh-uh. Not going there. Nope."

Yuffie crossed her arms adamantly, giving Leon the evil eye.

Aerith looked up from the chessboard that she was contemplating, while Kairi froze in the act of sneaking one of her pawns into a more favorable position.

"What now?" the teenager asked wearily, twirling her bishop around with one finger.

Yuffie turned. "He wants to go up to the Grand Hall. Tell him he's crazy. Please?" the ninja pleaded, fear starting in her grey eyes.

Aerith sat back in her wooden chair, putting her hands in her lap. "We can't avoid it forever, Yuf. If we wait too long, the darkness will spread to the rest of the castle."

Yuffie frowned and folded her arms in a huff, as if expecting an entirely different answer from the flower girl. She rounded on Kairi, eyes hopeful, but received only a wave of the younger girl's hands that said plainly 'leave me out of this'.

"It's now or never, Yuffie. You said yourself that you saw a Heartless in the kitchen yesterday. It's getting too dangerous to ignore," Leon said firmly, as if the matter was decided. He stood from the bookcase he had been leaning against, walking to the tall stained glass windows and staring out, his gloved fingers grasping his chin thoughtfully. "Where's Sora when you need him…" he muttered, questioning himself more than the others.

Yuffie swallowed hard, gesturing forcefully as if trying as hard as she could to come up with an argument. Finally she threw her hands limply back to her sides and shook her head. She sat on the bottom step of the staircase, biting her nails.

Kairi turned to Aerith.

"Where is the Grand Hall?"

"It's the very uppermost room in the castle. It's a vast chamber where Maleficent imprisoned the Princesses of Heart, excluding you. It's where the Keyhole of the world is," Aerith said quietly, keeping Kairi's gaze. "The darkness has been pouring out of it ever since the barriers were broken again. It's overrun with Heartless."

Kairi's expression became more worried. "How do you know?"

"No one's been up there, not since Sora sealed the Keyhole a year or so ago. Leon went up once, but he barely got over the threshold before he was attacked by shadows."

Kairi bit her lip. Maybe it was a good thing, then, that Leon and Cloud had been teaching her how to use her sword. She closed her eyes and sat back in her chair, appearing to the others to be deep in thought.

_Well, let's go!_

_You can't go._

_Why not?_

_Because it's way too dangerous!_

Her eyes slid open partially. Either Sora hadn't had much faith in her, which she doubted, or he truly was worried she would get hurt.

_C'mon, Sora, we made it this far by sticking together! You can't go alone._

_Kairi…even if we're not apart, we're not alone anymore. Right?_

…_I can't help?_

She looked up at Aerith.

"We should go," she said quietly, yet confidently.

"Have you lost it?" Yuffie said in near hysterics, standing up. "There's too many! We'll never make it out alive!"

"Yes, we will!" Kairi said, standing up. "All of us, together. Don't make me stay behind. I've done that already, and look where it got me. None of us should stay behind. If we go, _we'll go together_."

Leon turned to look at Kairi as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing was coming from the slight girl.

"Sora wouldn't let me come with him, and Riku…well, I don't know about him. But that's why all three of us got split up. Sora didn't want me to get hurt."

"Yeah, but damn—just because you're trying to prove him wrong doesn't mean we have to commit suicide up there! You have to pick your battles!" Yuffie cried, though she knew what the younger girl was saying had some truth to it.

"This one we've gotta take. And this time, I'll fight!"

Suddenly she sat back down, as if shocked by her own audacity. She had never been so bold before. And by the looks of the two other girls nearby, they were clearly taken aback as well.

Leon smiled slightly at Kairi, as if thanking her for winning the argument for him.

"You heard her. Grab your stuff, ladies. We're heading to the Grand Hall."

* * *

"Damn, it's really high up here…" Cid remarked, peering over the edge of the Great Crest, which they were currently navigating across. 

Cloud grinned slyly at Kairi and tapped Cid's ankle with the flat side of his massive sword, making him jump a little, startled. He yelled out a profanity as he scrambled away from the edge of the building, grabbing hold of one of the massive pipes that ran the length of the wall.

"You nearly goddamn killed me!" he said angrily, breathing heavily.

Kairi giggled, muffling the sound with one gloved hand. Cid made a frustrated groan and brushed the hair back from his head, grinning slightly that he had been duped. He picked up his spear where it had gone flying from his hands in his flurry to reach the wall.

Kairi was silently going through all of Leon's instructions in her head. _Never stay in one spot too long. Always be aware of what's behind you. Don't swing too hard; you'll lose your balance. Don't hesitate to call for help. You can never use too many potions; we've got Aerith with us if you run out._

She put her hand to one of her bulging pockets and drew out a small, glittering sphere. If she got into trouble, she had only to toss it above her and it would bring her energy back. She just hoped it would work if it came to that. Magic was completely unfamiliar to her.

Kairi had found a few on her islands back when they had all been together, but she had never used one. She had given most of them to Sora—Riku had found the rest on his own.

The group passed into the lift stop, each member silent and resigned. Kairi drew her sword, as did Leon, and Aerith held her staff with white-knuckled fists. Yuffie tapped the flat edge of her largest ninja star against her thigh, and Cloud struggled to keep his broadsword steady over his shoulders.

They all lined up side-by-side in front of the tall double-doors that lead to the Hall. Leon stepped forward and put one gloved hand against the crack. He looked to his left and right, and the party met his eyes solemnly, nodding to him each in turn.

He pushed the doors inward with a grunt, and they sprang open silently.

The hall was almost entirely dark, except for the dimness of the setting sun in the skylight far ahead. The stained glass reflections shimmered innocently on the marble floor. The air was remarkably still, almost as if there was nothing lurking in wait, though they all knew that wasn't the case.

Aerith was the first to move. "Fira," she whispered repeatedly, jabbing her rod expertly at the tall lamps surrounding the hall, and the area was slowly illuminated.

Kairi's eyes widened. This was where she had woken up after she lost her heart, such a long time ago. She had watched Sora fall to the ground before he disappeared and floated away…just ahead, in that landing beyond the staircases.

She blinked. Time seemed to stand still for a few seconds.

A flash of silver by her right side brought her out of her reverie. She glanced up at Cloud to her right. His face was set, and almost frightening. She leaned out to look at the others, who were all similarly set, their faces grim and dangerous.

Kairi bent her knees, and swung her sword up to rest its blunt edge along the back of her shoulders and neck. One foot slid forward silently until she froze, in battle stance, finding her own composure turning into that of hate and grim resignation like that of her companions.

The shadows were emerging now. She could see their liquid darkness, squirming about on the floor and in the walls. The Keyhole at the end of the great hall sparked threateningly, its undulating dark depths seeming boundless beyond reckoning. The taint of the blackened evil drifted around the solemn group, and they all tensed, some taking tentative steps forward.

Leon was breathing heavily, the scowl on his face deepening. He hissed a sharp intake of breath, and yelled, "NOW!"

A loud outburst of yells and cries came from the group as they went pelting forward, their weapons extended.

Kairi's heart was beating painfully fast within her, the stakes of life and death reeling in her mind as they never had before as she automatically slashed at every fiend that came her way. She couldn't believe the rush of adrenaline that was racing throughout her body, forcing her limbs to work when fear begged them to stop. She found her feet moving back and forth expertly, just as Cloud had shown her, and she whirled about in a flurry of attacks.

She found her senses roaming, and she could hear Yuffie nearby, her presence evident with the screams and shouts of _YAH _and _hi-YAH _as she threw her ninja star with deadly aim, recapturing it each time with gloved fingers. Each time Cloud struck, shockwaves coursed thorough the porous floor, felt beneath the feet of all who were nearby as his heavy sword cut through his enemies to the floor.

Kairi yelled out in pain as a shadow finally swiped across the back of her shin, tearing the sock and cutting slightly into her skin. With a cry of pain and fury she whipped around and struck the black creature, and it exploded into wisps of pure darkness. Aerith went pelting by, and yelled "Cura!" with a fierceness Kairi had never heard before in the flower girl's gentle voice. Kairi felt the spell hit her own back with the force of a speeding bullet, but it exploded as it hit her skin and showered over her, healing the wound and rejuvenating her.

Leon grunted and yelled, and Kairi felt a Firaga spell graze her cheek to hit a large armored Heartless by one of the crystal sarcophaguses, making it stumble backwards, overtaken by its own shield. She looked at it, petrified, as Leon ran past her towards it.

"Get behind it, Kairi, it's a Defender!" he yelled, and she found her legs working again, and she did as she was told as the Heartless found its footing again.

She lunged at its exposed back with her sword, putting a fresh dent in it every time she struck. But suddenly, it turned on her, its massive shield preceding it and its large fist swinging its bulk with all its might toward her. It caught her full in the side, and she was thrown down, and all went black.

Suddenly she felt herself awakening again. Leon hurriedly threw a potion toward her and she caught it, tossing it up above her head and watching it disintegrate and come to rest on top of her sprawled form. She had the strength to stand, and with a few fell strokes the Defender was defeated.

Leon looked frantically about, and seeing a lull in the action, ran to Kairi's side. His gloved hand came to rest on her shoulder, and he squeezed it tightly, leaning over to look into her eyes. "Look at me, Kairi," he said roughly, his eyes meeting hers. "All right, you're focusing. You okay?"

She blinked and nodded. He shook her slightly with his one hand. "Nothing like being knocked out, eh?" he said, his seriousness killing his attempt at a joke. He let go, and ran off, and she followed.

The group had worked their way through to the first stairway, and Yuffie and Kairi put back-to-back, having taken the worst of the hits as of yet.

The group split in half, three going up each staircase to the left and right, approaching the Keyhole with dread and determination. Once they emerged onto the wide landing, all of them formed a circle, their backs to the center, so that they had roundabout view of any approaching danger.

Kairi looked up to the stained-glass skylight. The setting sun cast barely any light, but she could see some of it shimmering within the colored glass.

_No matter how deep the darkness, a light shines within._

She could remember him saying that…but she couldn't hear his voice.

"It's too quiet," Cid said roughly. "Somethin' ain't right here."

Leon seemed to agree, glancing around with a suspicious look on his face. Kairi looked to her left, and Aerith smiled weakly down at her, taking her hand and giving it a quick squeeze before replacing it on the handle of her rod.

Kairi leaned forward, and her eyes met a spot on the floor, between two sinister-looking consoles. The light from above was hitting it oddly, the angles of the glass panes warping the reflection on the floor. She shut her eyes tightly.

_Kairi! Kairi! Open your eyes!_

_Forget it! There's no way you're taking Kairi's heart!_

_A keyblade that unlocks people's hearts…I wonder._

Kairi's eyes snapped open.

His voice…she could hear it again! Clear as day.

She turned her head around. Leon and Cloud were carefully going up the stairs to the giant Keyhole. Leon put his hand through the oscillating portal, and soon he disappeared inside it. Cloud used his sword to support himself as he jumped through after him.

The seconds stretched out to painfully long minutes, and the group was silent, the occasional shadow breaking the stillness before being quickly obliterated by those closest to it.

After what seemed like an hour, Cloud's upper half passed through the portal.

"Kairi! Come in here, quick!" he yelled urgently before passing back inside. Kairi's heart skipped a beat, and Aerith gently pushed her forward. She ran up the stairs and tentatively put her hand to the swirling colors that made up the portal to the darkest depths. She stepped through, and before looking at her surroundings, went pelting toward Leon.

"Kairi, you have to try—you're a Princess of Heart! Try to block the darkness!" Leon yelled as she approached, more desperation in his voice than she had ever heard before.

"How do I do that?" she shrieked, in a panic. Leon took her by the shoulders and positioned her firmly in front of the keyhole.

"Find your light! That's all you have to do!"

She stood frozen for a few seconds. She closed her eyes.

Her light…her light…

Thoughts flurried through her mind as she inexplicably felt the darkness lifting from her, and she opened her eyes and saw the black wisps that hovered in the stagnant air pulling back within the keyhole.

"That's it! Keep going," Cloud urged, leaning on his tall sword. Leon was silent.

Kairi shook her head. "That's all I can do!" she said desperately, but she closed her eyes again…he filled her mind's eye, and she kept trying.

She opened them again. "It really is! That's all I can do!"

Leon nodded.

"It needs to be sealed again…by the Keyblade."

Kairi stared unseeing at the keyhole. She nodded slightly. All three turned tail and ran back towards the Hall, breaking through the oscillating barrier and stumbling down the stairs back to the others.

"Did it work?" Kairi asked breathlessly, leaning over and putting her hands on her knees.

"I think it did, at least for the time being," Aerith answered, lowering her staff.

Yuffie smiled brightly and put one arm around Kairi's shoulder as she stood back up. "Good job!" she cried in a sing-song voice, the relief on her face shining plainly.

"I…I can remember his voice now. That's how I did it," she told Yuffie quietly as the group began to go back down the stairs, their exhaustion showing plainly.

"Bet he'd love to hear that," Yuffie said, laughing.

* * *

_I'm going down to the Entrance Hall. If I'm not here tomorrow morning, it's because I managed to get out of here. I'm going to try to find Sora by believing I can, just like I found you guys. Thank you for everything! You guys are great, and I'm so glad I was able to see you again. Don't worry about me, I'll come back when I get the chance. Here's hoping! And if I'm here tomorrow morning…well, I'm going to feel very stupid. Love, Kairi_

It seemed adequate. She left it on her bed, where Yuffie would most certainly find it when she came to shake her out of the covers the next morning. She picked up a candle, seeing as it was the only source of light she could find in the castle, and lit it, and closed her door.

She took the lift stop, hoping it wouldn't make too much noise. Her sword swung against her leg, its hilt securely fastened in her belt. She hoped Yuffie wouldn't mind that she was indeed making off with her khaki shorts and Aerith's boots…but then again, that was their purpose, to make her battle-ready.

She walked out of the lift stop, and found herself at the top of the staircases leading down onto the entrance hall. Donald and Goofy had brought her down this way, the last time she was here. She took a few steps forward. She had stood here…they had yelled at her to hurry down, but she wanted to stay and find her friends…

She ran down the stairs and stood before the fountain. A heartless had attacked them here. Donald had rapped it sharply on the head, but it cowered and shook its nasty little fists at him. She had guessed right…she had protected it, and blinding light filled the room before she found herself in Sora's arms.

Kairi closed her eyes.

_Kairi…thank you._

_Sora!_

A warm breeze blew all the hair back from her face as she felt herself spinning out of control.

_I'll find him…no matter what!_

And with that, shewas sprawledon a cobblestone path, and picking herself up, found herself in darkness like that of midnight.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED!  
Please review. 


	5. Namine

Chapter five, woot. After this chapter, if you haven't figured out where Kairi ended up, then you seriously need to review your classic Disney movies. Yes, she's in another world now. Enjoy this chapter. Interlude Two is included.

* * *

Chapter Five: Namine

Kairi shuddered, picking herself up off the ground. She felt more than a little sick, the whirlwind she had traveled through not being much help.

She looked up and around her, running her hand across her lips, some blood coming off onto her pale fingers. She inspected her knees and hands. They would be bruised in the morning.

She was outside, on a cobblestone path, and it was chilly. She crossed her arms tightly across her chest and ran forward until she saw it.

Kairi gazed up at a monstrous edifice, completely in shadow in the predawn light, topped with towers and pinnacles tall beyond reckoning. A castle…

"Hollow Bastion…?" she asked herself, before quickly realizing it wasn't. Her former home wasn't nearly this large, and she was quite sure there was no moat surrounding it.

Is this where Sora was?

She considered for a moment, then walked swiftly along the path until she came to the bridge, which was for some odd reason down with the front doors to the castle wide open.

This didn't look friendly. Not at all.

Kairi looked over the edge tentatively, before swinging her leg over the stone blocks and lowering herself down until she was hanging off the edge of the bridge by just her fingers. "One…two…three," she counted under her breath before she let go, plunging feet-first down into the moat from the height of a high-dive. She hit the water and went under, but she tensed and let her feet hit the bottom and pushed off to the surface.

She tread water for a moment, trying to figure out where to go next. Finally she saw it: a half-moon crevice big enough to accommodate a small boat, with iron-shod bars blocking entry. She dove under and kicked toward it, delighting to be out of the struggling current of the moat as she slid easily through the widely-spaced bars.

_Are you crazy? _She could hear her conscience telling her as she swam through the pitch-black channel. _Do you even have any idea where you're going?_

No, it was true, she didn't. She was just following where her heart was telling her to go.

She stood up when she felt the ceiling disappear from directly above her, and found the floor of the water channel had risen considerably. She seemed to be in some kind of dungeon. Torches lit the way down the hallway lined with iron bars and small cells, and the smell of mildew and algae was overwhelming. She pinched her nose and ran the length of the hall, feeling as if she were being led into a false sense of security, not having met anything living as of yet.

She slid across a particularly wet and mossy flagstone on the floor and landed with a thud on her backside.

"Owww!" she hissed, wincing and pulling herself up slowly. That was going to be sore for quite a while.

She heard a scuffle ahead that couldn't be mistaken for anything other than a human being.

"Who's there?" she called, suddenly afraid. She reached for her sword where it had fallen onto the floor with a clatter.

She could hear labored breathing, as if whoever she'd encountered was scared as well.

"I can hear you. Who are you?" she said, getting more and more frightened as she stood in the relative silence.

"Who are _you_?" the answer came. Kairi was relieved to hear it was a young girl's voice, perhaps even close to her age, but it was now laced with fear and suspicion.

"I'm…I'm Kairi," the redhead ventured, praying she wouldn't regret revealing her name. She waited for the reply, which was slow in coming.

The other figure slowly moved toward the dim light of the torches. Kairi let her breath go. It was a girl, in what seemed to be a light-colored dress in the dark. She carried a sketchbook in one pale hand. It was the most unexpected sight Kairi expected to find in this foreboding castle.

"What's your name?" Kairi said tentatively, holding out one hand as if to shake the other's.

"It doesn't matter," the girl said, keeping her distance. "How did you get here?"

"I…uh, well, I'm not really sure. I was just sort of thinking about somebody and it brought me here."

The stranger's brow furrowed and she nodded thoughtfully, as if the concept wasn't a surprise to her.

"What, you actually _believe_ that?" Kairi asked incredulously, putting her hands on her hips and grinning.

The other teenager smiled awkwardly. "Trust me, I know all about that stuff."

"So why are you here, anyway?" Kairi asked, peering up the staircase they were standing at the foot at, its top steps lost in darkness.

"Erm...someone I know...is here...and I've got to find him."

Kairi frowned at the girl. That sounded a bit too close like her own situation for comfort. "Who are you looking for?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.

The other girl looked at the floor, and kicked at a loose stone with her sandal.

"Same one you are."

Kairi's eyes widened.

"You...you know...Sora?"

The other girl looked up at her carefully and nodded.

"Is he here?" Kairi was getting more and more excited by the minute.

"...Yes," the other replied.

"Well...we should go find him, then!" Kairi said jovially, starting up the stairs and expecting the other to follow. She paused near the top step, turning.

"Why are you looking for him? Where did you meet him, anyway?"

The girl began to follow her, and as she passed Kairi, whispered, "That doesn't matter either."

Kairi frowned, and followed the mysterious girl up the stairwell and deeper into the castle.

--------

"What time is it, anyway? Shouldn't the sun be coming up soon?" Kairi complained as the odd pair wandered through a large hall, completely dark except for dim castings of the moonlight through tall paned windows.

The other girl was feeling her way along the wood-paneled wall, looking for any sort of lantern they might be able to light.

"I think...I think it could be anywhere from two to four in the morning, judging from when I left...well, never mind. Time can change between worlds," she said. She had been loosening up and was talking to Kairi more over the past hour.

"You're from a different world, too?" Kairi asked, squinting as she climbed a carpeted staircase she had stumbled upon.

"Yes," she answered. "Though it's not far."

Finally, she stood on tiptoe and strained to reach a high-positioned gas lamp. She stood on a stack of books on the floor, and reached up to twist a small switch in a three-quarter turn. Light started dim and brightened as she did, and the girls could see one another clearly.

The other girl stepped down lightly from her foothold, and put the hand that wasn't holding the sketchbook on her hip, smiling triumphantly up at the lamp. Kairi saw that she was blonde, with blue eyes and a smile that reminded her uncannily of her own. She didn't have time to stare long, though, because the girl gasped as she looked about to the room they stood in.

It was a library, but one beyond what either of them ever would expect. The ceiling must have been four stories above them, and books filled each wall to the absolute brim, with the exception of the one wall that was entirely taken up by floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out on a forest and the beautiful stars. Books stood in stacks all about too, the monstrous capacity of the wooden shelves not sufficient for the vast collection the castle held. Stubs of old candles littered tables and desks, as did sheafs of paper and yet more tomes, some that looked ancient and ready to fall apart and some that looked fresh off the press.

"Wow," Kairi breathed. The other girl remained silent, though her eyes twinkled in the glow of the starlight that filtered through the window and she smiled at the wonderful place they had stumbled upon.

Kairi suddenly found herself yawning. It was true, it had been very late when she'd been in Hollow Bastion just an hour and a half ago. It felt odd, somehow, to think that so recently she'd been in the bedroom between Aerith and Yuffie's, in a world perhaps light years away from where she was now.

She turned her bleary eyes to the blonde.

"Are you tired?" she said, failing to stifle another yawn.

The other girl shook her head. "Go ahead and sleep. I'll stay awake and watch. I've got a drawing I want to finish."

In any other situation, Kairi would have been keenly interested in seeing what the other girl was drawing, but sleep was overtaking her quickly. She climbed a small stairwell to a desk that had a large, cushioned chair at an odd angle in front of it. She pulled the cushion off the back of the chair and laid it on the floor, promptly dropping to the carpet and putting her arms around it and settling her head into the warmth, and was asleep within minutes.

Namine looked up the stairwell at the sleeping figure with a hard-to-read look in her eyes, and opened her sketchbook. She riffled through rough sketches of fabricated memories she had been forced to create, and ran her fingers over her more recent works. One of Sora. One of Kairi. One of the destiny she hoped would someday be hers to call her own--one she didn't have to make up, to cheat at. One she hoped to share.

-------

Kairi woke slowly, a hand grasping her shoulder and shaking it gently. She shook her head and lifted her face, before she saw the girl she'd met earlier abandon her rousing and walk back down the stairway.

She groaned and rolled over, off the rumpled chair cushion and onto the soft carpet of the library, staring at the ceiling. She sat up and gazed around.

The sky outside the window was still deep navy, studded with the tiny brilliance of the stars, the night too dark to be near dawn.

She rubbed her eyes and stood up, blearily navigating the stairs. "How long was I asleep?" she asked the blonde, who had resumed drawing already.

"About seven hours, something like that. Enough for me to finish three drawings," the other replied, her hand bringing her pencil in wide strokes across the paper. "It must've been early evening when we got here."

"Sorry," Kairi apologized. "Can...I see what you drew?"

"Uhm..." she replied, pulling the sketchbook close to her body and shielding the page she'd been working on.

"Come on, please? I won't be critical," Kairi said, smiling.

"Um...yeah, I guess," the girl finally conceded, closing the sketchbook and handing it to Kairi, who sat beside her chair and put the book in her lap.

She opened the front cover. On the first page was a beautiful drawing of a castle, done in some sort of multicolored pencil. She smiled and turned the page. What seemed to be a self-portrait of the artist, sitting on a dock over a clear ocean. Next...

She looked up at the other girl, incredulous. Three perfect portraits of Tidus, Wakka and Selphie.

"H--How do you know these three? They live on my island!"

She turned the page. It was...her.

"Did you do this of me while I was sleeping or something?" she asked incredulously.

The other girl shook her head.

"Who_ are_ you?" Kairi asked, frowning confusedly at the other girl.

She didn't have time to answer before a deafening crash made them shriek in fright. The tall doors to the library flew open the landing above where they sat. Footsteps echoed in the semi-darkness, and they saw someone coming slowly down the great stairway.

The other girl grabbed the sketchbook out of Kairi's hand hastily and stood up. Kairi sat up on her knees, trying hard to see who was approaching.

She squinted.

Could it be...?

"Well, I've seen a lot of odd pairs...but two sides, together?" a sardonic voice came from the approaching figure.

No, definitely not.

Namine was clenching her fists, an ugly look of dislike on her face.

The person came out into the light. Firey red hair went back in spikes from his pale, grinning face. He wore a long black coat with a two-way zipper and a large hood with dangling silver keychains across the neck.

He folded his arms. "Interesting. Very interesting. Didn't think you had it in you to face the girl you were trying to steal the Keyblade master from, Namine," he said scathingly, grinning even more widely.

Kairi frowned slightly, looking sideways at Namine, if that was her name. The artist looked at her and shook her head frantically, desperately whispering, "_It's not what you think_!"

"Isn't it time for you to be heading back?" the figure in black said, holding his index finger out almost accusingly. Kairi cried out in horror as she turned to find Namine had vanished.

"What do you want?" she asked, more fear showing through her voice than she had intended.

"Nothing much, just your name would be fine," he said sarcastically, folding his arms again.

Kairi stared icily up at him, her lips pursed together.

"All right, fine," he said, shrugging and turning his head. "The name's Axel, in case you were wondering."

He winked at her and flashed her that sardonic grin, and turned to leave.

Not really knowing why, Kairi drew her sword and ran towards him. Before her swing could connect with him, his hand whipped around to catch the blow with a metallic, spiked hoop.

He looked around at her.

"Very sneaky, Kairi. Striking at your opponent's back?"

She let out a little noise of disbelief. He knew her name?

He sliced downward with his weapon, forcing her to release her sword.

"So you still have no idea what's going on, and yet you're trying to antagonize everyone who could give you some answers. That's real smart, Kairi. Real smart."

"Tell me!" she said rather lamely, rooted to the spot.

"Nah, I wouldn't want to ruin the suspense. Oh, damn, am I going to enjoy this!" he said euphorically, laughing as he left the library.

* * *

_Interlude Two_

"_You came!" a young woman in a blue dress and white apron cried as the trio walked through the door. Before any of them could respond, she had lifted Donald right off the ground, smiling joyously and hugging him. The mage spluttered and waved his arms in the unexpected embrace, and Sora snorted, putting his gloved fist to his mouth to muffle his laughter._

"_Hiya, Belle!" Goofy said as the princess of heart let Donald go, and all three of them swept into deep bows._

"_No, no, no, none of that," she protested, putting her hands on Sora's shoulders and bringing him back up to standing position. "Not to say I'm not honored, Keyblade master, but this really isn't the time for formalities."_

"_What's going on, Belle?" Sora asked as she beckoned them hurriedly into the kitchen, and closed the door._

"_It's him…the Beast. He doesn't seem to remember any of us! I went up to see him yesterday and he treated me just the same as first we met. He nearly threw me in the dungeons, but I got out before he could…" she explained, wringing her hands. "He's put most of the staff in a cell, and he's been locked up in the West Wing for what seems like ages."_

"_And what's more, strangers have arrived," an animated and effeminate feather duster cried. "All in black and frightening!"_

"_The thirteenth order…" Sora muttered. "The Organization is here. Belle, you have to stay out of sight! Don't let any of them find you!"_

"_They want to reopen Kingdom Hearts, and from what we've heard, they need the Princesses of Heart to do it!" Goofy said._

_Belle nodded slowly._

"_Don't worry, Princess. We'll find out what's going on. We won't let you get into trouble," Donald said confidently, nodding forcefully._

"_Thank you…thank you all, so much!" Belle cried, putting her arms around the teenage boy. He swallowed hard and patted her back awkwardly before she let go, beaming at him._

"_Come on, guys, let's go," he said, and they quickly left the cellar.

* * *

_

WOOHOO! I've been waiting to put Axel in the story for quite a while now. I hope I personified him okay. I finally got to play Chain of Memories and read the entire script all the way through on the internet, so basically I know as much about it as anyone who has played it beginning to end.

Next chapter coming soon!

REVIEWS AND RATINGS WELCOME!


	6. Found

Alright. Next chapter. It was going to go in a completely different direction, but it wasn't turning out so well. This is a bit of a look-back to some unknowns or left-unexplained's of Kingdom Hearts, but the last bit of it continues Kairi's story. Enjoy!

Oh, before I forget—here's some responses to reviews.

**Shirozora- gah! must know more! where the hell are Sora & Co.! and are you going to put in BHK? and Riku's going to make appearances, right? right!**

Well, this chapter will tell you where Sora and Co. are! . BHK…probably not. I don't like to make assumptions about (no pun intended) the unknown. As for Riku…definitely. And not just in flashbacks, mind you!

**ShalBrenfan-I like it, but I was wondering if what happened here happened in the game, coz I haven't finished it yet, so I began to wonder. Anyway, this was really good and I loved it, so update soon! But don't stress though, just take your time and have fun, that's all that matters!**

No, all of this is original (with the exception of some of my own interpretations of screenshots and small clips from KH2). Sorry if I ruined anything for you! Hope you finish it soon!

Alright. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Six: Found

"When's the last time you saw her?"

"We were down in the kitchen licking the cookie batter off the spoon and--"

"And then?"

"She…well…I don't remember!"

The small raven-haired girl's lip trembled and her eyes looked up imploringly at the older boy, who had his fingers pressed to his hairline and looking distressed.

"She couldn't have just disappeared! We have to go find her!"

"But, you don't mean we're going to--" a thin girl with mousy brown hair began quietly.

"We're allowed to go talk to him if it's an emergency!" the fifteen-year-old asserted, putting on a face that made him out to be braver than he felt. "We'll go tell him she's missing!"

The two young teenagers and their 9-year-old companion made their way quickly to the castle chapel, where they knew the wise elder of the castle would be at this time of day. He did not like visitors, but these were special circumstances.

The door burst open and the three children ran in.

"Hello?" the tall boy called confidently, but quailing in the stuffy air of the dim chamber.

The youngest listened carefully. A small wail came from far ahead. They ran forward.

"Over here!" the small voice cried, and they ran over to the slight girl in the corner. She gazed up at them through a curtain of red hair, her hands wrung together and her legs splayed on either side of her.

"Why are you up here, Kairi?" Squall asked, kneeling to her height. "You know that Ansem doesn't tolerate us coming in here!"

The seven-year-old stood up hastily, one hand toying with the scalloped hem of her white sleeveless dress.

"He came downstairs and brought me here! He said 'I'll be back in a moment'," she said shyly.

A distant crash sounded, and the young girl knew Ansem had come out of the Grand Hall and would be back any moment.

"You guys gotta hide!" she said in a panic, and the other three didn't need telling twice. They sprinted to the dormant altar that stood in a fireplace near the back of the room and hid themselves well behind the wood piles.

Squall, Aerith, and Yuffie peeked over the stacks, the shadow of the overhanging mantelpiece sufficient to hide their widened eyes.

Ansem came striding out of the entrance to the lift stop, gazing around until he saw the small form of Kairi across the floor, her head bowed slightly, her toes pointed inward, and her hands clasped respectfully in front of her with tensed shoulders. His tired, wrinkled face studied her, silver hair combed back carefully and falling down his back. He wore a high-necked black shirt and pants, with an overcoat of grey and red buttoned in the front and high-laced black boots.

"Kairi…do you know why I called you up here today?" his aged, but strong voice issued, making the three hiding figures tense.

The small girl politely shook her head, still avoiding the master's eyes.

"You are here to do something very special for me—and for all the people of this world," he said, his voice taking on a more fatherly tone. "A King visited me yesterday. Did you know that?"

Kairi smiled and nodded. She had seen the stranger's vessel, sitting on the bridge near the castle gates, and had seen the back of him as he had disappeared into the massive front doors.

"Ah, you did see him then! Well, he has told me of a very strange occurrence indeed. He said that the door to other worlds has been opened! What do you think of that?"

Kairi remained silent, but looked as if she was deep in thought.

"This must be a very great surprise to you."

Squall's eyes narrowed as he took in what Ansem was saying. Other worlds?

Ansem moved closer to Kairi, and kneeled to her height. She kept her eyes closed, her chin to her chest. He put both his hands on her shoulders, and she jumped slightly at the touch.

"It's all right, Kairi, you can look at me," he said gently. She turned her face up to look at him, twitching again as she hadn't expected his face to be in such close proximity.

"I called you up here…because I want to send you to another world. Don't you think that would be exciting?" he said, apparently trying to lace his voice with excitement so perhaps the child would adopt the emotion.

Kairi frowned, dropping her carefully practiced manners as the look on her face turned to panic.

"No, Mr. Ansem, sir, I don't know if I would like that," she said, her voice small and fearful.

"Why not? You could meet some new friends!" he said, seeming to expect the little one's resistance.

Kairi's lip trembled as she watched him silently, confused by what he meant. New friends? What did that matter, when she was leaving her home? She was not so young that she could not comprehend the enormity of the situation. He seemed to be underestimating her.

The three children behind the wood piles could tell that Ansem was becoming impatient. If they could only help her…

Yuffie suddenly sneezed, a cloud of ash rising up around them, and in their scuffle to hide themselves better, they did not see Kairi slump into forced sleep in Ansem's rough grasp. Squall leapt up, resigned to the fact that the master of the castle had probably heard the noise and would catch them any moment, but saw that the elder wasn't paying attention. He lifted the small girl easily, and strode out of Squall's view, towards the doors.

All three children stumbled out of the fireplace, ash clouding the air and the logs rolling every which way as they ran after him.

They burst out the doors to the chapel, and found themselves on the highest level of the building, standing on top of the great crest and staring out across the vast expanse of their world. Ansem stood in the center of the path transcending the Crest, holding the small girl in his arms. He tensed, and lifted her up higher, and the three children stopped short as she disappeared before their very eyes.

They stood, blinking in the sunset, frozen to the spot with horror and disbelief. They only had enough sense still in them to flee when they saw Ansem turn.

* * *

Cold.

Covering her like a blanket, chilling her to the bone.

Voices.

Distant. Sounding like they're behind a brick wall.

A faint buzzing.

_Where am I?_

Finally, the cold seems to ebb away. A sense of her body once more.

The voices are growing louder, clearer.

"…quick, go and get somebody!"

"Who? Who should I get?"

"My mom, your mom…I dunno, just ANYBODY!"

_Pain._

Breathing hurts.

Light.

Streaming into eyes that have been unopened for too long. Blinding her.

A face swims into focus above her.

His eyes—bluer than any she's ever seen, and now wide with concern and…fear? Reddish-brown hair falling in spiked tufts from his forehead. He's biting his lip.

"You're awake!" he says, finally realizing that she's opened her eyes. He looks up and away from her. "Hey, Riku, wait, she's awake!"

She blinks blearily, trying to comprehend where she was…who these people were…

The other person comes running up, bending over and peering at her. Silver hair falls over his eyes and he brushes it back frustratedly.

She tries to sit up, and the brown-haired kid that she first saw puts one arm behind her back to help her balance. She shakes her head, and sand flies everywhere.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" the silver-haired one—Riku?—asks, kneeling down beside her and wagging his hand close to her nose.

She frowns, blinking slowly, and finally slurs, "Three."

"All right! She's okay!" the brown-haired one says. "What's your name?"

"…Kairi," she says after a moment, relieved at least that she can remember her own name.

"I'm Sora," he replies, smiling at her.

"Where did you come from?" Riku asks her, cocking his head.

"I…um…" she stutters, frowning at her knees. "I…I don't remember."

Sora suddenly looks up, behind her. "Whoa…" he breathes, his eyes widening in awe.

All three children look around. Kairi sees a vast ocean, the darkened sky of just after sunset reflected in the water. But what the other two are gawking at is something else entirely...

Ribbons of white are unfurling across the sky, the tails fading as the brilliance speeds along the horizon. A meteor shower...

Kairi doesn't even notice the cold she feels as the breeze caresses her sopping wet form. The spectacular display the stars are putting on entrances the three children, and there they sit until long after the sun sets.

-----

_Hey, Sora._

_Hmm?_

_When we grow up, let's get off this island. We'll go on real adventures, not this kid stuff!_

_Sure. But isn't there anything fun to do now? Hey, you know the new girl at the mayor's house? Kairi?_

_Riku? You coming?_

_Yeah, sorry...she arrived on the night of the meteor shower. Sure, yeah._

_Maybe she could come here with us sometime. It can be our own secret place. We'll be the only ones who know about it._

_Okay. Why not?_

_-----------_

_Say, Kairi._

_Yeah?_

_Let's make a promise--a pact. That no matter what, we'll look out for each other._

_Hmm...okay. Promise, then. And...Sora?_

_Yeah?_

_I'm really glad you guys found me._

_------_

Kairi had her sword wedged into the crack between a large door and its frame.

"Open, dammit! Open up!" she cried frustratedly, trying to lever the door open with the blade.

Sounds from within were coming through the tiny crack, muffled by the thick wood and metal of the door. She abandoned her efforts at opening the door and pressed her eye against the keyhole, going up on her toes to see properly.

Her vision was somewhat limited, despite the fact that her entire eye could fit over the keyhole, but craning her neck she could see that she was looking into probably the largest room in the castle. She lifted one leg as she went up even higher on one toe. She was looking down a staircase onto a landing, and there appeared to be another flight descending from a door directly across from where she was standing.

She could just barely see another staircase descending from the landing where the two flights met, onto a large polished marble floor. She could see shadows moving on the ground, human ones, but not their source.

Her heart thumped painfully within her chest as she stepped back and forced her ear against the keyhole.

Battle cries.

She heard a desperate "help!" before hearing a crackling spurt of electricity. And then...

"Take THAT! Yah!"

A deep, and yet familiar voice.

And then a grunt of pain, before an indistinguishable cry that sounded more like...

A quack.

_She had found them._

She cried out audibly, before clapping her gloved hand over her mouth and going at the door with renewed desperation, pulling her blade so far and so viciously back and forth that after a few yanks she feared the metal would shatter in her grasp. Finally, with a cry of rage, she wrenched the sword out of the crack and took an almighty stroke at the wooden door.

The aged wood splintered under her swing, but it wasn't enough. She hacked at it randomly, not even attempting to deepen the same spot. Finally, she kicked at a large portion of the door that was loosening, and after a few minutes of ramming her side against it, she tumbled through and onto the floor.

She scrambled up, ignoring the small splinters of wood that had embedded themselves in her clothes and hair, and reaching through the ragged hole that she had made in the door and grabbing her sword.

In the scuffle of the battle below, the Keyblade master, the mage, and the knight didn't notice the teenager come somersaulting out onto the landing far above them. Heartless were invading the ballroom with a ferocity unlike anything they had ever seen before.

"There's too many! Maybe we should just get out of here!" Sora yelled over the scuffle.

There was no answer from the other two, they were too preoccupied with their own enemies.

"_Sora_!"

Sora whipped around toward the sound of the yell. What he saw made him stop dead.

_Kairi?_

It didn't make sense. No...he was imagining, surely. But then...if he did, wouldn't he think of her in her old clothes? Looking like she did the last time he saw her?

He gaped. He could hardly recognize her. She was taller, definitely. Didn't look quite so waifish as she did at 14.

She came stumbling down the stairs toward him, and pelted at the group as he suddenly remembered the Heartless that were attacking his back. There would be time for proper reunion later. She skidded to a stop and went back to back with him.

"What took you so long, Kairi?" he yelled over the din, swinging the keyblade down on a shadow.

She didn't answer right away. She was staring ahead of her, seeming petrified by what she was looking at. He turned quickly and saw a Heartless that made the Guard Armor look like a Sunday picnic.

"Can we do it? Against that?" she cried.

"CHARGE!" Donald yelped.

* * *

Hahahahaha, cliff hanger. Sorry, guys. I'm writing the next chapter as you're reading this. Hope you enjoyed this little look at the unknowns of Kingdom Hearts: the relationships between Kairi and the Hollow Bastion gang before she was sent to Destiny Islands, and…well, how she arrived at Destiny Islands.

PLEASE REVIEW! Next chapter following very soon.


	7. The Oathkeeper

Chapter seven, woot. I've been mulling over my ideal Sora/Kairi reunion for a while, and I hope this turned out OK. Don't worry, it doesn't end here. Do let me know if it was a bit too mushy. Um...right. Just read.

* * *

Chapter Seven: The Oathkeeper

"And he's down!" Goofy yelled as he aimed one final stroke at the foot of the Heartless beast that had invaded the ballroom.

Kairi was half-kneeling on the floor, her sword standing upright and functioning as a support for her exhausted body. Sora was behind the dormant corpse of the monster, in a similar position, his keyblade swung over his shoulder and resting along his neck and back.

Donald swung his mage's staff around in a pinwheel and seemed to be thinking hard. He looked from Sora to Kairi, who were so exhausted they appeared to have forgotten about each other for a moment.

"Goofy," he quacked. "Uh...maybe we should go ahead into the next room and check things out."

Kairi thought she saw Donald wink at Goofy, and they left the room, the large double doors shutting with a reverberating crash.

Sora's breathing was still ragged. His head was down, his eyes staring blankly at the floor. He had overdone it, in the rush of adrenaline he'd felt when Kairi stumbled in.

Kairi stood up slowly, and Sora looked up at her, leaning on one knee with the other on the floor.

"Hey," he said. Her heart beat painfully within her. That voice...

"Hi," she replied, losing her composure and smiling sadly at him.

Seeming like a mutual agreement, they both scrambled up and ran towards each other, crashing into a desperate embrace. Sora buried his face in the crown of her head, and she had her cheek pressed against his chest.

She inhaled deeply, breathing in the scent of his sweatjacket, and letting the breath out became aware of the tears streaming down her cheeks. She was smiling uncontrollably. This was too unreal.

"I...I'm sorry I left you alone...back at Kingdom Hearts...I'm so sorry," Sora stammered, holding her tighter.

She cocked her head up to look at his face.

"It's all right," she said softly. "You did what you had to do."

They reluctantly let go of one another, seeming to subconsciously feel that they had to stay as near to one another as possible or the dream would end: that they had never found one another again, that they were imagining things. They held each other at arm's length, looking the other up and down and absorbing all they had missed.

Sora had gotten taller, and definitely stronger. He wore a fierce-looking outfit of black, red, and bright yellow. His hair had gotten...lighter? And for some odd reason, though it had only been a year, he looked a lot older than he did when she had seen him disappear behind the cloudwrack when she had returned to their Islands.

And as for Kairi--Sora couldn't help but stare. Last time he'd seen her, she'd been a thin little thing who looked so delicate and feminine it was as if she could shatter into a thousand pieces. But now...she was taller, more filled-out, and despite that look of fragility that would probably always accompany her presence, she looked like she could fight for herself now. Which she had proved just a few minutes ago. And--his expression softened at the thought--she looked more beautiful than she ever had.

Finally they let go of one another, the silence between them not at all awkward. They were content to simply be in the presence of the other.

"Am I allowed to come with you this time?" she asked of her friend, who had one hand behind his neck, studying her.

"Are you kidding? There's no way I'm gonna let us get separated again."

Kairi grinned and looked at her feet, knocking her heels together nervously. "There's so much I want to ask you...I don't know where to start."

"Hang on...there's something I want to show you," he said when she remained silent, and he bent down to where his keyblade rested on the floor and rummaged with something in his pocket. When he stood up and turned around, the weapon had transformed into a beautiful, slender blade with a snowflake-shaped end.

"Oh my goodness," she said in awe, and he flipped it around and offered it to her by the hilt, and it was then that she saw what was dangling from the handle--

Her lucky charm.

"I, uh…I use your charm with the keyblade all the time. I hardly ever take it off. And…I made a promise, right?"

She couldn't believe it. Without really thinking, sheslowly puther arms around his neck and embraced him once again. He put his free hand around her, the other holding the keyblade, the end of it resting on the floor.

Sora closed his eyes, leaning his face against Kairi's forehead, and a tear slid unbidden down his cheek. He brushed it away, roughly, before she could see. He hadn't expected to feel this way, when he met her again. Memories flitted through his mind...of Kairi sitting on the dock, watching the sunset with him, of Kairi sprawled against the wall of Captain Hook's ship without heart, of her desperately holding onto his hand before she was torn away from him...

"I can't believe I found you...I never thought..." she said quietly into his ear.

"But...remember what you said before?" Sora asked quietly, smiling at the sound of her voice.

"I'm always with you," she whispered.

A deafening crash made both of them jump several inches in the air, and tearing apart they whipped around. The large double doors on their landing had crashed open, and a lone, black-coated figure stood in the massive doorway, just as Axel had appeared. Just beyond this strange person, Sora could just make out Donald and Goofy, being held captive.

In an almost comically synchronized way, Kairi and Sora bent into battle stance, holding their weapons out and ready, their shoulders brushing.

"How sweet," the figure mused, in a deep and sarcastic voice. "The keyblade master and a princess of heart, reunited. Makes me _sick_."

Both teenagers' hearts skipped a beat.

Sora glanced at Kairi. He hadn't realized that, in his joy of meeting her again, he was now endangering her--she being a princess of heart, and him the most sought-out person in all the worlds combined.

"Get back!" he ordered her in a hissing whisper, stepping forward and brandishing his blade.

"But, Sora--"

"Trust me!"

He swung his Keyblade in a flourish in front of him, and taking the handle in both hands, pointing it at an angle toward the floor, summoned all its power. A crown-shaped line of flames traced its way around him, and she could see his sweatjacket and hair blowing around in what was obviously a magical forcefield. She only had enough sense to step back before she was caught in it as it expanded.

Slowly, though, the sparking of the tracery died away, and Sora slumped backwards and braced his fall, in an odd crab-leg position before he stood up, dumbfounded. The figure at the other end of the hall was holding one curled fist up, and evidently he had done his job.

"Well done, Keyblade master," the figure said, reaching up unhooding slowly, seeming to enjoy the effect he had on the two wary teenagers. He shook his head, long dark dreadlocks swinging out behind his head, two large black tattoos bridging his cheekbones just beneath his cold eyes. He was heavy-jawed and menacing, and before he spoke again he summoned his weapons: three long, pointed spears materialized within his grasp.

"You've led us right to her," he said quietly, yet triumphantly, baring his teeth like an animal. Kairi's eyes widened as her fist clenched around air, having forgotten all about her sword for the moment.

"NO!" Sora shouted angrily, scrambling up from the marble floor and putting his back to Kairi, spreading his arms and shielding her.

A thrill raced through Kairi as she ran forward and wrapped her arms around his torso, burying her face in the back of his jacket.

"No, Sora, don't!" she cried, as he turned around and hugged her tightly. He released one hand to draw his Keyblade, his eyes never leaving the approaching man.

"You won't have her, Xaldin," he said firmly, though his voice was laced with fear and anger.

Kairi's senses were reeling, and she clung to him for dear life. Suddenly he convulsed, reeling forward and nearly bringing Kairi down with him. His hand grasped at the folds of his shirt just above his heart, and he sank to his knees. Kairi fell to the floor beside him.

"Sora! What's wrong?" she cried in a panic, grasping his shoulders tightly, and her eyes casting about as the figure in black stepped closer.

"I don't…know…" Sora stammered through gritted teeth. He shuddered and struggled to his feet, a look on his face unlike anything Kairi had ever seen. He still had one hand grasping her shoulder, hers resting on his chest, right over his heart, and both watched as Xaldin stepped forward.

"You will release her," he ordered amusedly, holding his hand out once more. Sora was shaking badly under Kairi's touch.

Suddenly, two pairs of strong hands seized her from behind and tore her from Sora. She screamed and struggled, but a sword was held near her throat.

_Her_ sword.

She raised her chin, wincing, as she saw through the slits of her eyes that Sora was on his knees, his keyblade on the floor beside him. In the tussle that ensued when she had been seized, in trying to grab her arm he had dropped his own defenses and made himself vulnerable. Xaldin held one of Sora's arms captive, bending it backwards behind its owner's back, with the shaft of one spear braced against Sora's throat, his head cocked back so far he was nearly looking at the zipper of Xaldin's coat.

"You make another move...he dies," an unfamiliar voice hissed into Kairi's right ear. Fear kept her from turning to look at who were trapping her arms, but she realized they spoke the truth: if she struggled, he could potentially snap Sora's neck just by yanking the spear backward hard enough.

"Kairi..." Sora began, his voice breaking.

Xaldin tugged Sora's captive arm upward in one quick motion, making Sora gasp in pain and silencing him.

"That's right. You just hold your tongue, now," Xaldin said mockingly, the look of triumph and amusement on his face enough to make Kairi tense with loathing. Kairi cried out softlyin indignation beforethespear was pulledaway from him. He pulled him up roughly, letting the spear clatter to the floor and instead gripping the back of the teenager's head with one large hand. Sora's eyes were closed, squinting harder shut every time Xaldin moved. The black-coated man kept his hold on Sora's arm, threatening to break it as he began to walk backwards, taking his prisoner with him.

Kairi felt herself going limp, weakening against her captors' arms. The sword was released from her throat, but they kept their bruising grip on her upper arms and one large hand was braced against the entire back of her head. As Sora neared the door and Xaldin took his attention away from his prisoner's face to open it, Sora opened his eyes and lowered his chin. His eyes met Kairi's, and his face was wrought with fear and longing.

His eyes were watering from the pain of his sprained arm, but he held her eyes for as long as he could, smiling slightly and trying his best to comfort her from a distance. He mouthed something, but she couldn't read it from so far away. She smiled back, weakly and fearfully.

The doors swung open, and Sora's eyes snapped shut as Xaldin pulled him inside. The doors clanged shut, and the sound echoed like a death-knell to Kairi's heart. She sagged, her knees giving way, and her captors lifted her clean off the ground and pulled her in the opposite direction.

* * *

Well, for one thing, that was a bit more violent-sounding than I intended...well, the Organization is treacherous, what can I say? Well, yeah…sorry, another cliffie. But the nice part is that I've already established what's going to happen in the next chapter, so writing it will be a piece of cake. I'll have it up very soon. REVIEWS PLEASE! 


	8. Explanations

_Riku_: You're having waaay too much fun with this. You know that, right?  
_Perhelediel_: Yup. –grin-  
_Riku_: -chuckle-  
_Namine_: Hey, you sort of left me hanging.  
_Perhelediel_: Agh, sorry. Don't worry, you're coming back.  
_Namine_: Kairi's not gonna kill me, is she?  
_Kairi_: -evil grin-  
_Perhelediel_: Uhm, no.  
_Kairi_: Darn.  
_Namine_: -backs away carefully-  
_Kairi_: Don't worry, I'm just messing with you. Hey, Sora!  
_Sora_: Hmm?  
_Kairi_: Think the author'll let us find each other again?  
_Sora_: Probably not. –pokes Perhelediel-  
_Perhelediel_: Hey, hey! You'll just have to wait and see.  
_Riku_: This doesn't sound promising…  
_Sora_: I think I'm going to like this!  
_Axel_: Boo.  
_Perhelediel_: AAH!  
_Sora_: Argh! Let's just get on with it!

All right! NEXT CHAPTER! I promise not to end on too much of a cliffhanger this time, since I've teased you guys for the past three or four chapters with those darn cliffies.

Nice thing was, I was able to use a brand-new character in this chapter. You may have heard of him, he is the latest Organization member to be revealed: Demix. His weapon is…a lute or guitar of some sort. Go to and page back a few of the updates to see him. You may have also recognized Xaldin in the last chapter—he was revealed back around E3.

Before we start, let me state my disappointment at not being correct on one of those ambiguous Deep Dive quotes: "Can we do it, against that?" It was revealed yesterday that the quote will belong to Leon(Squall) and not Kairi. Ah well, artistic license.

* * *

Kairi's captors had to drag her most of the way upstairs; her legs simply did not want to function. Either she was paralyzed from shock, or she was consciously trying to make their job difficult in bringing her to what she was sure would be a dungeon cell of some sort.

The effort of walking taken away, though, allowed her to think. An odd feeling had overcome her since she saw Sora being pulled from the room.

An odd warmth.

She hoped the two…men?…who were now pulling her up a steep, spiral, stone staircase hadn't noticed the blush rising in her cheeks, nor the smile that curved the corners of her lips whenever the thought occurred to her: she was in the same castle as Sora, her Sora, and she had gotten a chance to hold him tightly and convince herself that he was real and that he wasn't going anywhere.

Her smile faltered as the bitterness of the situation caught up with her.

How was she to find him again?

"In here, you," the one on her right said roughly, letting go of her arm and thrusting it forward, and she let it swing limply in weak retaliation. She frowned when the other did not let go, and glanced up to her left. His face was hidden in shadow in the dimness of the high tower, the hood over his eyes not of much help.

"Get out of here, Demix," he said roughly. "I can deal with this myself."

"What, I don't get to share the catch of the day?" Demix, if that was his name, sneered as he pulled his hood off with one hand, revealing sandy hair spiked at least four inches above his head. Kairi almost snorted at the sight, but restrained herself.

The other sighed in frustration.

"Shut up. Not if the Superior gets wind of your little…er, _shortcoming_ yesterday."

Demix considered, before giving her captor what looked suspiciously like the finger and sweeping back down the staircase, putting his hood back up as he went.

Kairi was studying a long, heavy chain padlocked to a wall near the tiny window, to which some massive handcuffs were attached, when suddenly her arm was jerked backward. Her captor was moving slowly down the top two steps, leaning out as if to check that the other was truly gone.

She felt the grip on her arm loosen almost apologetically, and she looked confusedly at the figure's turned-away head. His gloved hand slid down her forearm to clasp her hand firmly and somewhat protectively. She gasped inaudibly and her eyes narrowed as he turned back up the stairwell. Was this some sort of…trick?

"In here," he said shortly, and he pulled her by the hand into one of the cells of the tower dungeon, and he shut the rotting wooden door, bolting it shut. A small window to the outside lit the room with a very faint golden light—the sun would be coming up soon. A light breeze swept past the two figures.

Kairi wasn't sure what to make of this. Here she was, in _very _close quarters with an unknown male, one she was almost sure was not exactly thinking of her safety.

She pressed herself against the wall closest to the door.

The figure paced to the window and had to stand on tiptoe to glance out. When he turned, he saw his prisoner had barricaded herself against the door, seeming ready to strike if he so much as advanced upon her.

She watched as he slowly unzipped his jacket from the bottom to reach for something at his waist. He fumbled with something for a moment, and then held out her sword to her, hilt-first.

"Okay. You're armed, I'm not. Now can I talk to you without you attacking me?"

A hard-to-read look crossed Kairi's face as she tentatively reached out to grasp the hilt, and she wrenched it away from him with such ferocity he could tell she still wasn't going to trust him.

He sighed exaggeratedly, his shoulders slumping. He took a step forward, and she flinched.

"I…I want to establish first, that…"

But before he could bring up an arm to stop her, she had lunged at him with her bare hands, her sword clattering to the floor. She reached up and tugged the hood off his head, which he bowed hurriedly.

He allowed her to take him by the collar, despite her short height, and drag him over to the window.

She was rendered speechless.

Resigned, he raised his head painfully slowly, his eyes closed.

Feathery silver hair blew in the slight breeze back from his face, as he opened his impossibly light green eyes to meet hers.

"Hey, Kairi," he said quietly, a small smile tilting the corners of his lips.

"R—R—Riku!" she cried out hoarsely.

A moment went by where all that passed between the two friends was a long look, her trembling hands still grasping the neckline of his long black jacket and his eyes searching hers.

Finally, she hugged him, and he returned it as best he could.

"You…you're real!" she said, letting go of him and reaching up and touching his nose tentatively before poking him a few times in the arm.

"Hey, hey, cut it out," he complained, brushing her hand away and grinning. "Of course I'm real."

"You…I thought, last time I saw you…"

"Yeah, about that…" he began, looking away from her and rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. "Ansem had taken over my body, at least for a little while."

"But you're all back together now?" she asked tentatively.

"Pretty sure," he answered, smiling.

"But you're…you're…one of _them_, aren't you?" she said apprehensively, reaching out to tug at the silver keychains that hung from his neckline.

"Technically, yes," he replied patiently. "But…I'm a double agent. As you might have guessed when you pulled off my hood."

She smiled. "You knew I was here all along, didn't you?"

"I saw you snoring on that landing in the library. The King told me there were strangers in the castle, so I went to check it out."

"The King?"

"King Mickey—you know those two guys that travel around with Sora? Yeah, he's the king from their world. He's a Keyblade wielder too."

Kairi waved her hands in front of Riku swiftly. She hardly had any idea what was going on.

"How did you…? I thought you…you had lost your…"

"It doesn't matter now."

"It doesn't…don't tell me it doesn't matter! I'm sick of people telling me that!"

"Huh?"

"Ever since the barriers disappeared again…all I've gotten is people telling me they'll explain later or that stuff doesn't matter! I just want to know what's going on!"

Riku sighed at her, the concern in his eyes mingling with resignation.

"You sure you do?"

"Yes! I'm sick of being in the dark--" she began, before stopping abruptly when she realized the irony of what she was saying—it was Riku, after all. He gave her a wry smile in response.

"Well…what do you need to know?"

"First I want to know what the hell happened to you and how you got to be here. And where has Sora been since the worlds were restored?"

Riku's eyes widened in slight exasperation at the loaded question.

"Well…uh…okay. First, I ended up in Kingdom Hearts."

Kairi looked at him expectantly.

"Kingdom Hearts?"

"Agh…forget that. Okay. I ended up in this place called Castle Oblivion, where I met those guys in the Organization. Yes, they're the people who wear this," he said, in response to Kairi's questioning look, and he tugged at the coat with two gloved fingers.

"Anyway…they don't exactly have the best of intentions. I had to fight a lot of them. Pretty sure I killed two of them," he said, shuddering. "They disappeared, that's all I knew. I saw Sora there and this girl named Namine--"

"Namine?" Kairi said, snapping out of her reverie. "I met her just a while ago! We were together for a while when I first got here, but then this guy Axel came and…"

Riku waited for her to continue, but when she began biting her nails, he went on, "Namine's job is to basically screw around with people's memories. She even did it to me, once. She made me think of you, even."

He finally unzipped and threw off the coat, shoving his hands into his pant pockets. Kairi marveled: he looked just the same as he had back before their lives had been thrown into chaos.

"And…what has she do to with Sora?"

"She turned his memory into a train wreck, for lack of a better word. Made him think…well, she made him think that she had lived on the islands with us. Basically, the Organization forced her to transfer his feelings for you onto herself."

Kairi bit her lip, turning away and pacing slightly.

So…Namine hadn't been stealing Sora away—she had been ordered to mess with his memories? She thought about it…yes, that would make sense of what Axel had said. Namine hadn't done anything wrong.

"And…what, he doesn't remember me?"

"Well, obviously he does. I saw you guys in the ballroom, remember?" Riku said, grinning slyly. "The only time I saw him was when he was asleep in this weird pod thing, and Namine was mending his memories. But now he doesn't remember her, nor any of the other Organization members that he met in Castle Oblivion."

Kairi opened her mouth to continue, but a sharp rap on the door made both of them jump slightly. Riku strode over and peeked through the barred window apprehensively, but then undid the bolt, and whoever was waiting outside stumbled in. It was obvious what they had to say was important.

Kairi's eyes widened in astonishment. The figure couldn't have been more than waist-height on her, and an odd shape was concealed on the top of their head by a hooded coat just like Riku's. The figure reached up a white-gloved hand and tore it off.

"Your Majesty!" Riku exclaimed, taking a step forward. "What is it?"

Kairi gaped at the face of the King. He looked up at her and smiled before looking back up to Riku.

"I've told you before, you don't have to call me that," he said in a slightly high-pitched and cheerful voice. A nice voice. One Kairi found she liked the sound of almost immediately. And she saw that the odd shape of his head was due to two large, round ears. She had expected as much: after seeing Goofy and Donald, she'd come to expect odd appearances.

"Fair enough," Riku said, chuckling. "Mickey, this is Kairi, one of the princesses of heart. She's one of my friends from the Islands."

Mickey held out a gloved hand to Kairi, and she shook it firmly, smiling at him. She could tell she wasn't the only one who liked his personality.

"Pleased to meet ya, Kairi," he said, smiling back. He let go of her hand and turned urgently to Riku.

"Have you forgotten about your other friend? They've taken him down to the deeper dungeons. But unless you want to leave Kairi here all alone, you're going to have to take the shortcut," he said, lowering his chin and giving Riku a significant look.

Riku pressed his lips together into a firm line, seeming to consider.

"If it's the only way…" he said quietly, crossing his arms, his eyes looking towards the window.

Finally he looked up and unfolded his arms.

"Come on, Kairi. We're going to find Sora and get out of here."

* * *

YAY! King Mickey! Gotta love it.

Reviews welcome, and next chapter coming soon!


	9. Reunion

Wow, sorry for the long delay. I've honestly been working on this since I finished the last chapter, but it's been extremely difficult for some reason. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Nine: Reunion

"Are you sure about this?"

"I've done it a million times."

"But that was just you, and that was--"

"Uh, I did it once with you practically dead in my arms."

"But that doesn't count!"

"It was between worlds, too. Kairi, do you trust me or not?"

"I do, but…"

Riku looked at her exasperatedly, having just zipped his Organization coat back on and put the hood up. Kairi sighed in defeat, and walking over toward him, let him put one arm around her waist securely.

She bit her lip and braced her own arms against his, her fingernails nearly digging into his skin through the tough fabric of the coat.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yeah," she answered shortly, swallowing hard.

She shut her eyes tightly, but nothing could block out the cold wind and odd feeling of sensory deprivation as Riku let his partially clenched fist gather the darkness within himself. She tensed against his slightly trembling body, and as they went, her head snapped back hard against his chest. She thought she could hear him grunt, but soon a shrill, ascending noise filled her ears and blocked out her stillborn scream…

* * *

"It's a freakin' key! Why won't it open this lock?"

"Gawrsh, Sora, calm down…"

"We'll find a way out somehow."

Sora stood on tiptoe to peer out the small, barred window that was the only source of light in the cell he and his companions were trapped in.

Goofy sat despondently, his two gloved fists clutching the handles of his shield and letting the bottom edge of it rest on the floor, his small cap askew. Donald stood nearby, his arms crossed and his webbed foot tapping impatiently and anxiously on the damp stone floor.

Sora aimed a halfhearted punch at the reinforced iron door and turned, putting his back to it and sliding down to the floor, letting his legs splay out in front of him, his keyblade resting in his lap.

"I lost her again…I promised her we wouldn't get separated again, and…I let her go…"

Donald looked at him somewhat pityingly, his eyebrows turning upward in concern. Sora's shoulders were slumped, his expression unreadable—he seemed to be talking to no one in particular.

"Don't worry," he quacked, lowering his staff and shaking his head firmly at Sora. "It wasn't your fault at all!"

Goofy turned his head toward the teenager sadly, not saying anything.

"But, what are they doing with her? They could be hurting her…torturing her, I don't know…or worse…" Sora said fearfully, his fingers lacing through his hair and bowing his head.

"They could have already stolen her heart away, for all I know," he spoke into his knees. His hands were trembling slightly with anger—or despair.

Donald looked at Goofy, who met his eyes and frowned slightly. They had never known Sora to be the fearful type. Always the confident one. To see him actually acknowledging the hopelessness of a situation was something they'd never seen before; and frankly, they didn't enjoy the feeling.

Before anyone could say anything, clamoring voices issued from down the hall. Sora's head snapped up, and he scrambled from his spot against the door to peek out of the window once more.

It took a moment before the voices became clear, and the light in the dim chamber was increasing ever so slightly as the others approached.

"…left him alone. With the prisoner. Brilliant. Do you have any idea how much of an idiot you are?"

"How so?"

"They're gone, genius. Don't you know enough about any of us to remember that this Organization's practically a time bomb? Not a single one of us can trust the others anymore. Only ourselves."

"Which brings me to my point—why am I taking crap from you?"

"Because you let a Princess of Heart get away. Maybe you're too thick to notice, but despite the differences in this stupid platoon, there's one common goal: to open up that damn door again. Got it?"

There was no answer.

Shadows abruptly filtered through the dim light that flooded the small cell, and Sora hastily stepped down and ran to the bench Goofy was on, attempting to arrange himself as if he was completely relaxed sitting on the cold stone.

He looked sidelong at the door, not turning his head. Axel's cold eyes appeared in the small window, and when they saw the Keyblade master sitting slumped against the wall, they narrowed slightly with his grin.

Sora reached up and brushed his bangs roughly from his eyes, resigned. He was coming through that door and there was nothing he could do about it. He screwed his eyes tightly shut.

But when a few fleeting moments passed with no sign of the treacherous man entering the room, he chanced a peek.

The pair of eyes was gone.

He could faintly hear a scuffle from outside the door. He looked at Donald, who gave him a blank look.

"Mmmrrghf…"

A groan issued from right outside the door, near the ground.

"Owww…"

"Oh, crap."

Sora scrambled up and toward the doorway. Pushing his face against the bars, he tried to see what was going on in the outside hallway, but evidently whatever source of light had been illuminating Axel's face had been snuffed out.

"Never…again…"

He knew that voice.

"Argh, that's my back you're digging your elbow into."

"Sorry."

More scuffling.

"Who'd we hit?"

A small stretch of silence. The sound of something heavy being pushed over.

"Axel. I've been wanting to do something like this to him, just never figured out exactly how…"

"Is he…"

"Just knocked out."

"What should we do with him?"

"Just stash him over here, in this cell…"

"Wait. First…"

The faintest sound of…knuckles cracking? A thud, and then a small pained groan.

"_Kairi!_" a voice hissed, shocked and yet amused at the same time.

Sora swore loudly, before clapping his hand over his mouth. The cries of shock that came from the pair outside the door echoed in the close quarters.

"…my God! Kairi! It's me, I'm in here!"

"Sora!"

"Hey, stand back," the unfamiliar voice ordered firmly.

The trio did as they were told, Sora leaping up onto the stone bench and bracing himself against the wall. Nothing happened for a moment, and all that could be heard was Kairi's quiet urging. Finally he saw a small glow of red near the crack near the doorframe—they were trying to use Firaga to melt the lock.

After what seemed like an eternity, the door was kicked inward with a crash that would have woken the dead, and two dark figures stumbled in blindly.

"Why are we all standing in the dark?" Donald asked sarcastically, before the end of his staff was lit aflame.

Everyone muttered in indignation as they threw their hands over their eyes at the sudden light, but as their sight adjusted, they could see one another clearly.

"Sora!" Kairi cried, reaching forward and putting her arms around him tightly. He reciprocated, trying to reassure his rapidly beating heart that she was real and safe. After a moment they broke apart.

"Are you all right? What did they do to you?" he asked her urgently, keeping his hands braced on her shoulders, looking indignant and relieved at the same time.

"Nothing, they didn't get a chance to do anything, don't worry," she said, shaking her head and her smile lighting up her entire face. "We've got one of them on our side."

"Who?" he asked her, softening, before remembering the other person who had entered the room.

She gave him a significant look, and smiled slightly at him as Riku came up to Sora's side and cuffed him on the back of the head, a sardonic grin on his face.

"Me, you idiot," Riku answered him amusedly as Sora's head pitched forward, and reached up to rub at the spot the other had whacked.

Sora's eyes narrowed. He bit his lip as if he were thinking hard.

"What's the score?"

"Two to eight."

"Holy crap!"

And with that, Riku grabbed him about the neck with one bent arm and ground his fist against Sora's scalp, grinning. Sora grunted and struggled for a moment, but Riku had his advantages at the moment, and his laugh echoed in the dim chamber. Finally Riku let him go, and Sora stumbled away, rubbing the top of his head as if it pained him.

"No way…no possible way! How did you get out?" Sora asked him incredulously.

Riku shrugged and crossed his arms, pure bewilderment painted into his expression.

"No idea. It was weird, though…being in there and suddenly…well, not…" he answered stutteringly, his expression changing as if it pained him to talk about the dreadful doors he had been locked behind. He bit his lip and looked away, seeming to become keenly interested in one of the flagstones that made up the wall.

Sora seemed to understand, nodding silently, but the look of utter shock and disbelief was still planted firmly on his face. He seemed to have to keep his eyes on Riku to assure himself that what he was looking at wasn't just a passing illusion.

"I saw you, though. In Castle Oblivion. Man, I told you to take care of Kairi, and instead you decided to take a nice long nap?" Riku said after a moment, laughing. Sora chuckled guiltily, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand, and glanced sidelong at Kairi, who raised one eyebrow jokingly at him.

"Slacker," Riku remarked, grinning and shaking his head. Sora looked wounded, crossing his arms but half-smiling despite himself. Kairi laughed.

"Maybe we'd better get out of here. You took Axel out, right?" Sora said suddenly, snapping out of his reverie and striding towards the door to peer out. He stifled a small laugh.

"Uh…who gave him the giant bruise on the shin?"

Kairi's eyes widened innocently, as she stuck her foot out and pointed to her boot. Soon, the cell was filled with the din of the three teenagers' laughter.

As their laughter faded away and Riku stopped clutching his side, they became aware of distant echoes. A crash, and then footsteps.

"Crap," Riku hissed, and Kairi immediately withdrew into the shadows, pulling Sora down with her. Their silver-haired friend shut and put his back to the door, crouching low enough that someone peering through the barred window couldn't find him with their searching eyes.

They could hear soft whimpering as the footsteps approached. Kairi tensed, listening closely, as Sora tried not to breathe beside her.

"No…let me _go…_"

Silence.

A shadow passed by the door. A slight sound of tinkling chains told them the stranger was unlocking the cell next to them. A grinding creak as it swung open.

A horrified gasp.

"What the…Axel?"

A muffled thump, as whomever it was gave the unconscious man a dig with his foot.

"Let me _go_!" a female voice hissed.

All that could be heard in response was a grim and satisfied chuckle. A rustling, as something heavy was dragged along the floor.

A clang as the door slammed shut into its metal frame.

Quick as lightning, Riku swung the cell door open swiftly and emerged into the hallway, shutting it behind him firmly. His silver hair was pressed against the barred window.

A small gasp of shock as the stranger noticed Riku.

"Xaldin," Riku said curtly.

The treacherous man came into view of the barred window, and Sora could see his lip curl.

Kairi was afraid something terrible would happen, but Xaldin walked right past Riku and his footsteps echoed down the hallway.

"That was almost too easy," Sora breathed near Kairi's ear.

She nodded silently, as her heart slowed its frantic pulse.

"Coast is clear," Riku whispered through the window, and the odd assortment of characters made their way out the door. "They're not too bright, are they?"

"Hello?" the female voice they had heard earlier issued from the cell on their right. "Is someone there?"

A face appeared in the small window of the cell.

"Belle? Is that you?" Goofy asked, his eyes widening.

"Yes! Oh, thank heavens!" she said in relief, her brown eyes shining in the torchlight. "Is that the Keyblade master?"

"Yeah! Hang on, we'll get you out of there!" Sora said, moving close to the door. He held his keyblade firmly in one hand, and held the lock with the other, hacking at it as precisely as he could. When he had little success, Donald pushed his hand out of the way frustratedly and put the end of his mage's staff to the lock, muttering under his breath as the lock glowed bright red with heat.

Kairi looked to the right and saw Axel slumped against the wall, evidently left there until he woke up. He appeared to have a bad bruise along the hairline from being knocked over by the two teenagers. His spiked hair was a shock of red against the dull wall.

"There!" Sora said finally, and the lock broke clean off. The door opened and Belle stumbled out, her nicely combed hair in disarray and her golden gown soiled.

"Thank you! Thank you all, so much!" she said, putting both gloved hands on Sora's shoulders and nodding in turn to each of them.

Kairi's eyes narrowed slightly. This woman looked strangely familiar…

"Are you…a princess of heart?" she asked tentatively.

"Unfortunately, yes," Belle replied, while trying to smooth her wrinkled dress.

"I am too," Kairi said, meeting her eyes.

"You're…the one they couldn't find! Aren't you?" Belle said to her, straightening up and getting a better look at her. Kairi nodded and smiled halfway.

"Well then, pleased to meet you. But I should probably tell you that we mustn't meet again. By the look of things, they're trying to round us all up again. Thankfully they aren't doing a very good job…" she remarked, looking past Kairi to the unconscious Axel against the wall.

"That's right!" Sora said, clapping his hand to his forehead. "Guys, we'd better get out of here!"

"Will you be all right here, Belle?" Riku asked the princess solemnly.

"The Beast is here. I'm sure I'll be fine," she asserted, gathering her skirt so she could walk faster.

"Let's go!" Donald quacked, and the group set off down the dim corridor.

* * *

Yeah…well, that chapter wasn't the greatest, but at least now I know exactly how the rest of the story's going to go. I was stuck on this for quite a while. Anyway, LOVE REVIEWS! 


	10. LiftOff

Big props to my friend Persephuzzled, who took the liberty of writing a bit of this chapter. I really like the twists she brought to my characters. Anyway, after the first four paragraphs, it's all me. 

Hope you like this chapter!

* * *

Chapter 10: Lift-off

Sora, Kairi, Riku, Donald, and Goofy walked rapidly along the corridor, Riku in the lead. All muffled their footsteps, and only spoke when necessary. Riku, although part of the Organization, had not been in the castle very long, and was regretting leaving Belle behind. Though keeping her with them disabled them more in case they were found, she at least knew her way around the castle.

Riku let loose a long stream of curses under his breath as they collided against each other at a darkened dead end, Donald completely losing his footing and toppling over. He groaned deep in his throat, not bothering to hide his frustration. Kairi heard him and touched her hand to his shoulder to get his attention.

"Riku?" she said questioningly. His head turned slightly toward her, his hood concealing his expression.

" I don't know, Kairi. I don't know the way out. I can't do it. All I'm useful for right now is for leading you into even more danger and trouble, again. I…I can't let them find you…" his voice trailed off. Embarrassed at revealing so much and that he was so ashamed of his past actions, a sudden redness suffused his cheeks.

Kairi looked up at him, slightly shocked. She had no idea that Riku harbored such emotions towards his past and to herself. She wished to reassure him that she didn't care, but as she opened her mouth to tell him so, another thought struck her. She still was not fully sure whether to trust Riku or not. He did turn himself over to darkness willingly. She did care. Her mouth snapped shut again. Before either of them could say or do anything more, Sora joined them at the head of the group.

Sora had been observing the pair of them for their entire conversation. As he noticed their proximity and Riku's blush, an odd feeling grew in his heart. He quickly moved up to join them, standing closer to Kairi than usual. A hard glint appeared momentarily in his eyes as he stared at Riku. Then, ashamed of himself for thinking such a thing of his friend, he asked him, "What's going on?"

"He's feeling guilty," Kairi murmured quietly, glancing at Sora sidelong.

Sora made an odd sound that could have been the beginning of a statement, but then found he wasn't quite sure what to say. Every time he looked at Riku now, he could still remember the mad glint in his eyes and the mangled voice that had threatened him in Hollow Bastion. It was a memory that was reluctant to be cast aside.

Their pace slowed considerably as Sora looked at Riku's downcast profile, partially in shadow by his black leather hood.

"It's just…" Riku began, trailing off.

"Yeah?" Sora asked, determined to crack his shell. He had always been able to tell when something had been bothering Riku. Despite his cool and collected outward appearance, real emotion or deep thought was prone to shine through.

"I've nearly killed you both before," Riku said, his voice at a low and unsettling level, almost as if he were punishing himself with his own words. Kairi looked at Sora uncomfortably; what their friend had just said was undeniable. "I don't plan on screwing up again. They told me…he told me…"

Riku seemed to be tripping over his own words. He fell silent for a second, and paused at the top of a grand staircase. Sora didn't anticipate it and stumbled into him, stepping back to look at him questioningly and somewhat pityingly. Kairi looked forward and began to exclaim that they had found the entrance hall and the way out, but silenced as soon as she caught sight of Riku's face.

"I was sick of being an islander. I wanted to get away, to see other worlds…and I destroyed the Islands…it was me. It was me who let the darkness in…"

Kairi and Sora looked at each other in bewilderment, wondering why on earth he would blame himself for the island's apocalypse.

"I'm…I'm sorry, guys. I'm really sorry."

Riku seemed beyond comforting, his shoulders slumped and his hands grasping the rounded top of the railing firmly, his shadowed face downcast and his voice low and sorrowful.

Sora scratched his head for a moment, his eyes casting about the ground as if thinking hard. Finally, he stepped up to Riku's side and took his shoulder firmly in his gloved grip.

"Hey. Hey, look at me. Snap out of it!" he said, shaking Riku's shoulder. "It doesn't matter what happened before. We're all together now. Isn't that enough?"

Riku took the beating and glanced slightly toward Sora, not convinced.

"I mean, sure, you tried to beat me up a few times. Well, more than a few. But we know how to handle you."

He grinned as he said the last part.

"Now who the heck told you that crap?"

Riku muttered something indistinguishable.

"What?"

"I, um…"

"Spit it out."

"Zexion."

"Hm. There's an X in his name. Must be the Organization," Sora deduced, rolling his eyes. "Can't they get a bit more creative than that?"

"It's not funny."

"I--I know…I'm sorry."

"It's all right."

Kairi was watching both teenagers, slightly entranced. It was unreal, seeing her two best friends who had always been rivals acting…well, like the friends they claimed to be. Perhaps their adventures had changed them, even if only by a little.

"Hey, cheer up," Donald piped up out of nowhere, waddling close to Riku's right side and tapping his hip with his staff. "Like we told Sora, no sad faces allowed on this trip. The ship won't run."

Riku's expression was amused as he looked at the mage, his eyes flicking to Kairi as if to see her reaction. It was odd, seeing Donald actually acknowledging Riku when they had nothing but silence and enmity to show for their past.

"Fair enough," he said, his face breaking into the first true smile they'd seen from him in two years.

"Now let's get out of here, before that darn thirteenth order finds us ag'in!" Goofy said.

Donald and Goofy began traipsing down the staircase and the three teenagers made to follow.

"Thanks, Sora," a quiet voice murmured.

Sora stopped on the third step and turned to Riku, who had his hand on the banister again and was grinning slightly at him from under the dark hood. He returned the smile.

"No problem."

Kairi smiled brightly at Sora as she caught him up, and he offered her his hand. She took it, and they went down the stairs, her steps bouncing slightly and their arms swinging exaggeratedly forward and backward, as if they were in a parade.

Sora let her hand go to push the great front doors open, but paused for a moment as he did so. Had he just been holding hands with Kairi? And did…had she thought it was more than just a friendly gesture…

He shook his head at himself, and the group emerged into the dawning day.

* * *

"So…this is a gummi ship."

Riku stared at the brightly-colored space vehicle with mingled hilarity and awe. Comprised completely of flexible gummi blocks, it looked like a three-year-old had glued it together with no regard for its flyability or color coordination. Then again, Riku thought, Sora never had much of an artistic eye…

"Yup. This is it," Sora said rather proudly, trying to brush off the ivy they had used to obscure it in the forested area immediately behind the Beast's castle. The glass cockpit was slightly scratched, and there were dents in the armor on either side.

"We haven't gotten a chance to do much repair work lately, because we've been having trouble plotting a course back to Holler Bastion to buy stuff from Cid. We ain't seen a familiar world yet, not since we closed that there door to darkness," Goofy remarked, clambering up on top of the ship's domed cockpit to aid Sora. With a strangled yell, he slid off and into the brush on the other side. Donald chuckled heartily.

"You haven't been there since…since…erm, last time?" Kairi asked rather lamely, caring not to specify the events that occurred during their "last time."

"Nope. We couldn't find our way back," Sora answered her, catching the restraint in her tone. "We ended up in Castle Oblivion after Kingdom Hearts, and we had no idea where that was in relation to anywhere else. The next world we hit was Twilight Town, and that didn't help us much either."

"Twilight Town?"

Riku suddenly looked sharply interested.

"You've been to Twilight Town?"

Sora looked at him, a bit taken aback by Riku's urgency.

"Yeah, why?"

Riku considered for a moment.

"Never mind. I just…I've heard of it, that's all."

Sora looked curiously at Riku for a few seconds, but then shrugged and dropped the subject.

"I was at Hollow Bastion only yesterday!" Kairi exclaimed. "It's gotta be close."

"What! You were there?"

"Yeah!"

"Well…then how did you get here?" Sora asked incredulously, abandoning the ivy and giving his full attention to Kairi. It struck him as odd that he hadn't asked this before—maybe the shock of seeing Kairi again had distracted him sufficiently.

"I…I don't really know. I…I believed I would find you guys again, and…I ended up here!" she stammered, throwing her hands up in bewilderment.

"The Beast did that once," Sora said, suddenly thoughtful. "He said, it worked because…because he vowed…"

Sora went slightly red and shook his head.

"I guess that doesn't matter. You're…you're here now," he finished, turning and busying himself unlocking the hatch that led into the ship's interior.

Kairi glanced at Riku, who had his arms crossed and a slightly amused look on his face. He met her eyes, and jerked his head slightly in Sora's direction. Kairi smiled, and ran forward to clasp Sora in an embrace from behind. She felt his arms suddenly stop their work in surprise, and he turned in her grasp to return it.

"We'll go together. We'll find Hollow Bastion, and a way home. I know we will," Kairi said brightly as they let go of one another.

Sora grinned at her. "You're right. We'll all go…together."

A sudden rustling from behind them made them all tense as they turned. But out of the brush emerged a short figure: the King.

"Your majesty!" Goofy and Donald exclaimed in unison, Donald startled so much that he slid off the front of the ship and into the grass facefirst. They both got up hurriedly.

"Hiya, fellas," Mickey greeted them, pulling off his hood and smiling at all of them. "Looks like you're ready for liftoff, huh?"

"Almost," Donald quacked, standing up importantly. "Your majesty! Where'd you disappear to after we met you in Twilight Town?"

"I had some business to finish with Riku here," the King answered, smiling at Riku and putting his hands in his pockets. "But it's done…for now. Where are you headed?"

"Hollow Bastion, if we can find it," Sora replied, fumbling with the lock and glancing at Mickey.

"The world map's no good anymore, not since we left Castle Oblobgin…er, Obs--"

"Oblivion!" Donald shouted frustratedly, losing his composure for a second and shaking his fists at Goofy.

"So you'll be needing one of these, then?" the King said, rummaging in his pocket and holding out a brightly-colored gummi piece in his gloved hand.

Donald let out an undistinguishable string of exclamation that ended with him running forward to inspect the piece.

"That there's a Navi-Gummi, isn't it?" Goofy asked.

"Sure is!" Donald said, holding it close to one eye and closing the other. "Where did you get that, your Majesty?"

"Found it out on the front bridge. Someone must've dropped it."

Kairi frowned. Hadn't she arrived on the front bridge…? She thought no more of it as Donald hurried to the ship to install the piece.

"Mickey, are you coming with us?" Riku asked, striding forward toward the ship.

"Naw, I'll catch you up later. Head to Hollow Bastion, maybe Cid can help you out. And if I don't get there in time…" Mickey said, looking Riku hard in the eye with a significant look. "Well, you know what you have to do."

"Yeah…I know."

They shook hands and Mickey set off back toward the castle.

Donald tapped his webbed foot impatiently, and Sora turned to find the hatch open and waiting. The three teenagers clambered inside, scaling the small ladder into the upper cabin. Kairi situated herself between her two friends on the bench seat under the glass domed cockpit.

Donald and Goofy climbed into their respective seats at the front of the ship, Donald taking the controls into his gloved hands. He paused for a moment, then leaned close to Goofy's ear. The three teenagers in back were chatting.

"Goofy…why hasn't Sora fought to be pilot yet?"

"I dunno. Sora's always like this around girls, a-hyuck!"

Donald let out a frustrated sigh and she ship roared to life.

"Well, whaddya know! There's Holler Bastion's coordinates, right there!" Goofy exclaimed, pointing to the navigation screen.

Donald shook his head in disbelief. "You're right! Well, it's awful far away…wonder if we'll hit any other new worlds on the way there."

"Gah!" Riku cried, jumping slightly and grasping his armrests firmly with his gloved hands as the ship lifted off with a lurch. Kairi giggled.

"What are you laughing at?" Riku asked her mock-sternly, letting go of the armrests as the ship found a wind current and its movements smoothed out. He crossed his arms and looked out the window.

As they slowly ascended, the morning sky darkened and at last they were among the stars, speeding along toward the coordinates that pointed to Hollow Bastion.

After an hour or so, Sora looked down, bored, out the window.

"Donald!"

"Whaa?"

The ship lurched to the right at Sora's outcry, Donald having been startled out of his wits in the silence.

"Down there!"

Kairi leaned over Sora to look out the window at what he was pointing at.

"Could it…?"

"No way," Riku muttered, his face pressed against his window. "No…possible way."

* * *

Yes, I'm going to be evil and give you a cliffie. Will update soon! I LOVE REVIEWS! 


	11. Homecoming

Sora: Wow. I totally wasn't expecting that.  
Kairi: Me neither.  
Riku: I'm never going on a gummi ship again.  
Perhelediel: You might have to. Sorry, Riku.  
Riku: Gah! No!  
Kairi: What's the matter? Scared? –pokes Riku-  
Riku: I don't trust that duck…  
Donald: Hey!  
Perhelediel: Who wants to say the disclaimer?  
DiZ: I will.  
Perhelediel: Gah! When did you get here?  
DiZ: Doesn't matter. Perhelediel doesn't own any part of Kingdom Hearts: the characters, their previous plotlines, etc.  
Perhelediel: Very good.  
Axel: -wakes up from being knocked out in Chapter 9-  
Kairi: Uh oh.  
Sora: RUN!

Wow. Sorry this took so long. I had to tease you for this cliffie for a while! Couldn't resist! –smiles innocently- Woohoo! This is my longest chapter yet, aside from chapter four (The Great Hall). Interlude Three is included…

Anyway, here's the long-awaited resolution to Chapter Ten. Next chapter to follow very soon.

* * *

Chapter 11: Homecoming

Riku suddenly snapped back into his seat, rigid, staring straight ahead of him. He exhaled forcefully.

This…this couldn't be possible. They had scoured the universe for days on end…

_And here it was._

Right below them.

Kairi and Sora's faces were pressed against the glass side-by-side, their features oddly distorted in the reflection. Sora's breath came out in soft fog on the pane.

"That's not…Destiny Islands, is it?"

Kairi's eyes simply widened and she didn't respond. Her fingers slowly slid down the window.

Sora turned his gaze from the window to Riku, who was gripping his armrests rather tightly. His knuckles were slowly paling, and he looked as if he were having trouble deciding whether to throw up or jump ship.

"Whoa!" Sora exclaimed, shoving Riku's shoulder slightly with his hand. "You're scaring me, man. What's wrong with you?"

Riku snapped out of his daze and looked at Sora, the tenseness in his shoulders and hands loosening.

"Sorry," he muttered.

He couldn't face the Islands—not after all that had happened.

There would be questions, surely. _Where were you? What on earth were you doing, and what took you so long to come back?_

_You've changed._

What could he say to that? _Oh, nothing much. Just plunged headfirst into darkness and nearly killed all my friends. Besides that, nothing too exciting._

And that lingering doubt of Zexion's accusation…

"No docking points are registering," Donald quacked frustratedly, leaning high up out of his seat to push a few buttons around the top of the controls.

Goofy let out a snore and his foot dropped abruptly from the dashboard. He jolted awake with a small yell.

"Try pointing the Scan-G at it, Donald," Sora said, moving up towards the controls and leaning out so he could see out the front window. Donald grabbed a small joystick and rotated it, until a small laser beam emitted and hit the miniscule blue shape that was too far away to recognize.

"Well, whaddya know," Donald said incredulously. A satellite image appeared on a small black and white screen in the dashboard—a chain of islands in a calm sea, five total, the smallest one with a wide beach and a visible waterfall. "Sure looks like your island."

"Why didn't we see it before?" Sora asked, looking utterly confused as leaned against the dash with one hand and pushed his bangs back from his head. "We've been looking for a way here since…forever."

"I don't know!" Donald responded, bewildered. "We've been in this spot before. Hollow Bastion is only twenty minutes from here. We're right at the halfway point between there and where the End of the World used to be."

"And we didn't spot it…" Sora said, shaking his head. "Why?"

"Think about it, Sora. You've been light years in the other direction. You haven't been here since you were last in Hollow Bastion, which was almost two years ago. Destiny Islands didn't exist the last time you were in this spot. It had been swallowed up, remember?" Riku said from the back, sitting up straighter.

"That…makes sense. But still…wait, no. We flew the Gummi Ship out of the End of the World, in this direction, right after we closed Kingdom Hearts. The Destiny Islands had been restored. We would have seen them then."

Riku opened his mouth to speak, but faltered. _Then how…how could it have simply appeared? Was this some sort of trick?_

"There are still no docking points. We're gonna have to land this thing on the ground. Any ideas?" Donald said, turning around in his pilot's seat.

"The beach of the children's island should be big enough. Try there."

"Which one?"

"The smallest one, right…" Sora said, pointing to the screen. "There."

Goofy straightened his goggles nervously.

"Gawrsh, we've never made a landing on an uncharted world. D'you think we'll be able to make it?"

"No one ever has…" Donald said slowly. "Or they would have made a docking point, or at least programmed some stats for ships to pick up. We're just going to have to cross our fingers and hope for the best."

"Unless it was never meant to be found," Riku murmured, staring into space toward the ground.

Kairi heard him and turned from the window, her brow furrowing slightly as she tried to work out what he meant. He was leaning over, his elbows resting on his knees and propping his upper torso, staring at apparently nothing.

"Try to get closer," Sora said, trying to see through the world's atmosphere and wispy clouds.

"We can't _get_ much closer, or the gravitational pull will get us," Donald replied, shifting into a low gear and moving the craft slowly towards the small world. "We're going to have to go in hard, and fast. And Goofy, grab the co-pilot steering. We're going to have one shot to aim for this island."

"Too late!" Sora cried suddenly, watching the pressure meter on the dashboard begin to plummet.

The ship bucked downward abruptly, and with a panicked quack Donald seized the U-shaped steering joystick to steady it. Sora pitched forward and stumbled to his hands and knees as the floor went into full tilt. He felt two pairs of hands grasp his forearms and pull him back into his seat. He strapped in hurriedly.

"Hold on!" Donald squawked, pulling on his safety strap and reaching up to put the ship on manual. The ship's movements smoothed slightly, but now its power and direction was entirely in his hands.

Slowly he lifted his webbed foot from the brake pedal, and the ship began to sink slowly through space as if through water. Kairi's fingernails dug into Sora's arm as it picked up speed.

"Gravity sucks," Riku muttered. Kairi whimpered, ungrateful for the comment.

Sora chanced a peek out the window as the pressure in the cabin began pushing down on its occupants. Clouds obscured the atmosphere, but he could just make out the chain of green in the grey-blue ocean.

Donald suddenly turned the ship to point directly at the Islands.

"Get ready…three, two, one!"

And he slammed on the jet accelerators, and the ship lurched forward so hard the three teenager's heads slammed against their headrests, their eyes snapping shut and the wind taken out of them.

Faster, faster the ship speeded directly for the islands, when suddenly the cabin filled with a reddish-orange glow and the ship stuttered in midair. Their speed slowed quickly, and soon they were back to cruising altitude.

They had made it through the atmosphere, but there was still the landing.

Kairi whimpered, slumping forward. Sora cried out in surprise and put his arms around her to pull her back into sitting position, and it was then he saw the tears streaming down her face from the forces. She smiled weakly at him, and he returned it.

Riku looked slightly dazed.

"Never…again."

Sora grinned at him.

"There's the island, right below us! See the beach?" Goofy said, leaning forward and pointing.

"I see it, you big palooka! Now help me land!" Donald squawked, annoyed.

"Gawrsh," Goofy said, shaking his head and taking the co-pilot controls in his two gloved hands.

There were a few moments of silence, punctuated by the passengers' occasional gasps as the ship hit wind currents and bucked slightly in midair.

"Easy, now…"

"Careful, don't land in the…"

SPLOOSH.

"…ocean."

"Oh, joy," Sora muttered.

"We're not too far from the beach!" Donald countered. "Don't any of you know how to swim?"

"Of course we do!"

"Then get moving and jump ship already!"

"Wait, no! If the accelerators go underwater, we won't be able to leave! We'll be stranded!"

Donald tapped his bill as if thinking furiously.

"You're right. We've gotta use the Float-G's and take right off for Hollow Bastion. Who's going to stay here?"

"Wait! We'll all come with!" Kairi said, panicked.

"Guys!" Riku shouted over the confused din. "Floor the accelerator, now!"

"But--"

"JUST DO IT!"

Donald did as he was told at the teenager's stern command, and the g-forces slammed all the occupants back into their seats once more. It felt as if they were going to be pushed right through the seat cushions behind them if they picked up any more speed.

The gummi ship sped forward, spraying water fifteen feet in the air every which way as it skimmed the ocean's surface. It bucked and shuddered, tilting left and right before the accelerators began to die down, and it rolled over twice until it came to rest upright on the bed of sand covering the front of the children's island.

Sora clutched his head, dizzy. Luckily they had been strapped in and had survived the rollovers without too much jostling.

"We're here," Kairi whispered.

Sora stared out the right-side window at the paopu tree on the small islet.

"I never thought I'd see this place again."

* * *

"No, like _this._"

"I still don't get it, man. How do you turn that many times in midair?"

"Hell, I dunno. Ask my dad."

"Are you trying to teach him…that…Sublimely Magnificent Jecht Shot Mark III?"

"Yeah."

"Can you even do it?"

"Sure…well, once…okay, maybe I can't."

Wakka laughed at the younger teenager, grabbing him in a headlock and grinding his fist against Tidus' scalp, while Selphie shivered in her school sweater watching the other two. All three had changed significantly since Kairi's return a year or so ago. Wakka had grown tall and muscular, and was the captain of their school's blitzball team. Tidus had gotten taller as well, and refused to play on the team despite the fact that he was a better player than all of the teammates combined. It was a bit of a point of pride for him, that they wanted him so badly but he wasn't willing to oblige. He now wore black overalls over a short yellow and white sweatjacket, and his blitzball padding and armor.

A sudden glimmer caught Selphie's eye. There was an odd glare reflecting from the children's island toward the three teenagers.

"What's that?"

Wakka let go of Tidus and turned around, scratching the back of his head with one calloused hand.

"Whoa!"

Tidus pushed the mussed, sun bleached hair back from his eyes and squinted, leaning over to peer at the island and bracing his hands on his knees, the armor on his left arm clanking slightly.

"I can't see a thing…"

"Wait! Last time I checked, there wasn't a…_ship_ on our island, ya?"

Selphie suddenly stood up, her heart skipping a beat.

"Let's go get our boats! I think…I think that might be Kairi!"

* * *

"Agh! Where are our boats?"

"Well, this sucks."

"Damn, this thing gets really hot in the sun…"

Riku hurriedly unzipped his Organization coat and draped it over his arm. It was dripping slightly, as he had fallen into the surf as he exited the gummi ship. His yellow shirt and dark navy pants were soaked with perspiration.

"They must've given up on us. Why else would they bring our boats back to the other island?" Kairi said ruefully, smiling at the irony.

"What, do they expect us to swim home?" Riku asked incredulously, shielding his eyes with one hand and squinting to the east, toward their residential island. The ocean water sparkled, but the current pressing concern was not allowing them to enjoy it.

"Do you see…boats coming?" Kairi asked, hoisting herself up onto the dock and leaning out as far as she dared.

"Yeah!" Sora yelled from his spot standing in the surf, with his shoes off. "It looks like…Selphie?"

Distant yelling echoed toward them.

"YO! Sora! Is that you, man?"

"Heeey!" Sora yelled, jumping up and waving like a kid again, ocean water splashing onto his legs and shorts as he leapt. "Wakka!"

Within a few minutes, the boats came to the dock, their occupants furiously rowing. Selphie clambered out and ran towards Kairi to wrap her in a huge hug.

"You had me worried SICK! Where the heck have you been?"

Kairi laughed and returned the hug. "A lot of places…"

Tidus and Wakka got out of their boats and stumbled over one another trying to run over.

"Where have you been--"

"We thought you guys were dead or something, ya?"

"Is that a SWORD?"

Sora laughed as Riku grinned and brandished Soul Eater in front of the other two's astonished faces. Wakka suddenly turned to Sora and punched him in the shoulder.

"Oww!" Sora complained, clutching the spot Wakka had hit. As strong as he'd gotten, Wakka was still bigger.

"Look at you, brudda! What have you been doing?"

Sora stifled an ironic laugh, scratching behind his neck and his Keyblade materialized unknowingly in his other hand.

"What's THAT thing?" Tidus asked, as Selphie and Kairi came up to join the group. The blonde's blue eyes widened as the blade shimmered in the sun.

"We'll explain later. Can we go home now?" Sora asked wearily, grinning.

"Duh! Your mom's going to want to see you!" Selphie said, grabbing Sora by the wrist and dragging him over towards the boats. Sora looked over his shoulder as he was pulled along, looking both weirded out and amused at the same time. Kairi giggled.

Riku turned to Goofy and Donald, who were hanging back and looking a bit out of place.

"Don't worry, we'll just stay with the ship. We've got food and everything," Donald said cheerfully, waving the teenagers on. "You go on home and we'll catch up with you later."

* * *

"Mom?"

There was no response. He tried again. Kairi lingered near the front door as he stepped farther into his house.

"Hey! Anyone home?"

"Who's there?"

"It…it's Sora, Mom."

Before he could finish, Sora's mother suddenly emerged from the kitchen, busily drying her hands with a dishtowel. Her light brown hair was tied in a loose bun, her long bangs brushed to the side over one eye. She had a relatively slim frame, and wore a pair of khaki capris and a blue t-shirt and sandals. When her eyes met her son's, the cloth slid from between her fingers.

Sora bit his lip, and his mother ran towards him to wrap him in a tight embrace. He buried his face in her shoulder.

"Sora! Oh…oh…oh my God, Sora, my baby…"

She was crying as she rocked him back and forth.

"You're home! Oh…I thought you…"

She couldn't finish as she continued to weep and kiss his cheek. Sora was turning slightly red, but Kairi knew it was from happiness and not embarrassment. The redhead smiled as he looked toward her from the corner of her eye, the side of his face pressed against his mom's shoulder. He squeezed his eyes shut as he fought back tears himself, and his gloved hands reached farther around his mother's upper back to hold her tighter.

Finally she released him, but kept both arms on his shoulders to look him up and down.

"Don't you scare me like that again! When you disappeared from your room that night, I thought you had been kidnapped! Or that you'd run away…where have you been! Kairi tried to explain, but…"

Her eyes caught sight of the Keyblade, which was attached to a belt loop and swinging against the side of his leg.

"I'll explain, Mom."

She finally seemed to notice Kairi, who was hovering near the front door.

"Kairi!"

She strode forward and wrapped Kairi in a bear hug as well, squeezing Kairi so tightly that tears leaked out of her eyes in emotion.

"You're safe…oh, I had the whole island looking for you! It seemed like you'd disappeared into thin air! They abandoned the search a week ago…"

She let go of the redhead, and reached out her arm to wrap around Sora's shoulders and pull him near, and she held both of them close to her for a moment.

"You're both safe."

Finally she released them both.

"What about Riku? He went--"

"He's fine too, Mom. He went home."

"Oh, that's wonderful."

There was a slight pause.

"Now where have you all been?" she asked, concern and love painted into her expression as she looked from Sora to Kairi.

* * *

_Interlude Three _

_"In here. No one saw you, did they?" a pale blonde girl asked anxiously as she beckoned a boy her age into the large chamber. He slid past her as she shut and bolted the white door behind him._

_"I don't think so," he assured her. His voice was quiet and careful…and yet so familiar-sounding._

_She turned from the door and to him, clutching her sketchbook at her side. The teenage boy had his back to her, scanning the whitewashed room with mild interest. His sandy blonde hair was spiked at the peak of his forehead, and his white and black sweatjacket was slightly dirty from his trip. His hands were shoved into the pockets of his cargo khaki pants._

_He turned to glance at her._

_"What is this place?" he asked._

_"Castle Oblivion...it's…it's where other sides end up," she responded, averting his eyes. His expression turned to one of confusion._

_"Other sides?"_

_"Let me explain," she said, her long fingers riffling through the pages of her sketchbook. She sat down in a high-backed chair at one end of the long marble table. The other took it as permission for him to sit as well, and he took a seat at the opposite end._

_Finally, she found the page she was looking for. She smoothed it out and gripped the book on either side, and tilted it against her chest for a moment as if she were hesitant to share it with him._

_She turned it towards him. The teenage boy squinted across the table to see better, but his eyes widened as he took it in._

_"Is that--"_

_"No, it's not you," she answered him solemnly, as if anticipating this first reaction._

_"Then…"_

_A look of dawning comprehension crossed his face._

_"My other side."_

_She nodded._

_"He looks just like you."_

_The blonde-haired kid say back in his chair, a little dazed. She lowered the sketchbook to the table's surface almost apologetically._

_"Who is he? My…other side, that is."_

_She placed the drawing pad back on the table, having turned the page to a less haunting image: one of the castle they were in at that moment._

_"His name is Sora," she said. Something in the boy's chest tightened as she said the name—all he'd been made to do was to not allow them to find this…this Sora. DiZ had said it was of the utmost importance that they not find him, because he was to be the end-all to the chaos the universe seemed to be in._

_How could he have known…that this Sora was his other side?_

_"He…he's the true Keyblade master. There's only one in all the worlds combined."_

_"Then what does that make me?"_

_"It makes you…a mere shell."_

_She met his eyes, a wry and somewhat pitying expression on her pale face._

_"You…you're not meant to exist, really."_

_The boy was silent for a few long moments. She began to shift uncomfortable where she sat._

_"Then…my friends, my town…none of us are real?" he asked gruffly._

_"We're as real as anyone. But the fact remains that they came first. They're missing half their heart…and that half is all we have."_

_"Distant hearts, when rejoined as one," he muttered softly. "May find the light within."_

_"That's right," she said in response. "The only way to find the light."_

_"So I have to find him, and give…" he said, pausing._

_He looked up at the girl._

_"You said 'we'."_

_"I did."_

_"Who's your other side?"_

_"Well…" Namine said. "She's a maiden of heart."

* * *

_

Next chapter to follow soon! To quote Kikofreako, press the shiny review button and make me happy!


	12. The Secret Place

_Riku_: -raps Perhelediel on head with handle of sword-  
_Perhelediel_: Hey! –rubs head-  
_Riku_: Took you long enough to update.  
_Perhelediel_: Yeesh. Sorry.  
_Kairi_: Yeah, where have you been?  
_Perhelediel_: Marching band, theatre, and playing Final Fantasy VIII.  
_Sora_: What? And not Kingdom Hearts?  
_Riku_: Traitor. –shakes head-  
_Leon_: Right on. –high fives Per-  
_Perhelediel_: Teehee, thanks, Squall.  
_Yuffie_: It's LEON.  
_Perhelediel_: Right, sorry.  
_Aerith_: You're going to try hard to update faster next time, right?  
_Perhelediel_: -cries- Yes, I pwomise. By the way, I loved your movie.  
_Aerith_: Oh, why, thank you!  
_Cloud_: Hey! I was in it too!  
_Perhelediel_: I know. You did a great job playing the emo kid!  
_Cloud_: -frown-  
_Perhelediel_: -grins innocently-  
_Leon_: Wait a sec…you didn't write the song in this chapter, did you?  
_Perhelediel_: No, I did not, thanks for reminding me. The song lyrics in this chapter are from Utada Hikaru's _Simple and Clean_. They were all her, not me.  
_Leon_: That's what I thought. –smirk-  
_Perhelediel_: Pssh. –shoves Leon off chair-

Yeah, leave it to Riku to make me feel guilty about not updating. –cowers- I've honestly been plugging away at this chapter as much as possible over the past month and two weeks, and I sincerely hope it's to your liking. It's very LONG, once again, but I'm sure you're not complaining. :-)

Anyway, I promise Chapter 13 will be up VERY soon. That one has been written for a long time, I've just been waiting for an appropriate time to stick it in.

Enjoy Chapter Twelve!

……………………………

Chapter Twelve: The Secret Place 

"Face it! You lost, brudda!"

"Nuh-uh. Rematch."

With that, a soaking wet Tidus tackled Wakka into the shallows, wrestling the white and blue ball from his grasp with moderate difficulty. Finally, he pulled free, the slippery ball sliding in his grip as he dove deeper, the older boy following him with a splash.

Riku had separated from the group a while back. Selphie, Kairi, and Sora were sitting on the small islet, leaning against the paopu tree and finishing off some snacks they had brought from Sora's house.

"Man," Sora said, putting his hands behind his head. "If you'd told me a week ago that I'd be sitting on Destiny Islands eating chips with no Heartless around, I wouldn't have believed it."

Kairi grinned at him.

Sora looked about the island with his eyes, until finally he saw his best friend. His stomach clenched.

The silver-haired boy was ducking out of the Secret Place.

Perhaps…he hadn't seen…?

"Sora!" Riku called, beckoning him over before bending to crawl back into the brush. Sora got to his feet, bid "be right back" to the two girls, and dropped off the small islet to follow Riku into the cavern.

Kairi glanced sidelong at him as he walked up the sea-softened wooden ramp beside the waterfall and disappeared into the greenery. A slight blush tinged her cheeks.

Tidus and Wakka were going at their blitzball match with renewed ferocity, and their yelling and splashing helped fill the awkward silence.

Selphie nudged Kairi who jumped slightly; her attention had been diverted inward to her own thoughts. The younger girl saw the nervous pink tinge in Kairi's face and raised an eyebrow slyly at her friend. Kairi shrugged, willing the butterflies in her stomach to quiet down.

……………..

The almost stifling odor of saltwater and damp soil permeated the air of the secret cavern as Sora ducked out of the root-lined tunnel. He coughed slightly as he emerged into its warmth, the late-afternoon light filtering through the opening in the ceiling.

Riku was up on his toes, his fingers prying around the edge of the massive door embedded in the rock face. He glanced over his shoulder as Sora walked in and fell back on his heels, stepping back and putting his hands in his pockets.

"I've got a theory," Riku began, glancing sidelong at Sora.

"I remember…Ansem told me things. Or…didn't tell me, they just sort of…forced their way in when he had me possessed," he muttered. He seemed to be struggling with the memory.

"He was the one who came through. He poured the darkness in once the world was open to it. He saw you, and the Keyblade…and how Kairi's heart somehow ended up in yours."

Sora looked up at Riku. He'd forgotten about that night…how panicked he felt, when Riku appeared to have lost his mind and how Kairi looked so sick standing in this cavern. How she was blown forward by the sheer force of the darkness and disappeared…

"And…"

"What I'm trying to say is…had it been _real_ darkness that poured out when that door opened, both of you would have been consumed by it like _that_."

He snapped his gloved fingers.

Sora frowned slightly. Riku was right.

"It's kind of deceiving…" Riku continued, reaching up to half-heartedly pry at the edge of the door again. "I can almost sense what's behind here…a wall of false darkness, concealing something else, and protecting it. I can smell it."

"What? What's there?"

"…light."

Riku turned to look Sora straight in the eye.

"Now you know this is something I'd rather not talk about, but…what came out of Kingdom Hearts first, before anything else?"

Sora looked blankly at the wall to his left, trying his hardest to make the memory replay in his mind's eye. Suddenly he looked up.

"Light."

"Exactly."

Sora nodded.

"It's deceiving, like I said. Even in the deepest of darkness—there's that little piece of light. Just like this door…"

"Leon told me once, 'There is darkness within every heart,'" Sora said slowly, thinking hard. "It's the same with light…there are shadows even within the brightest light?"

"Seems like it."

"So…you mean…"

"Yeah. I think this might be the door to the light."

Sora stared. The words had hit him in a way Riku couldn't see. His expression remained stagnant, but inside thoughts refused to settle.

_You are the one who will open the door to the light._

Sora looked up at the door and silently drew his Keyblade. Riku followed the weapon with his eyes, holding his breath. The brunette pointed its tip straight at the door.

Nothing happened.

"Something tells me…it's a bit too easy. I don't think it's meant to be opened from this side."

Sora dismissed the Keyblade, and his fingers closed around air. Riku combed the silver bangs back from his eyes with his gloved fingers.

"Like I said, it's just a theory."

Riku turned and ducked back out. Sora heard the rustle of leaves as his elder emerged into the sun.

He looked down thoughtfully, his hands in his pockets.

Suddenly a memory seized him. Willing himself to look, his eyes drifted from the wooden surface of the mysterious door to the rock face directly beside it.

His expression softened.

His eyes lingered on the drawing he and Kairi had made as kids…the one he'd added to the summer when he was fourteen. He'd drawn a paopu fruit, passing from her to him; it was a childlike symbol of his feelings for her. He walked toward it.

_If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined. They stay a part of each other's lives, no matter what._

_They say, if you share it with someone you really care for…it binds you together forever and ever, through eternity!_

Another, newer drawing of a paopu fruit was there, passing from her to him. He grinned. His finger traced over Kairi's sun-bleached etching. Maybe…it wasn't one-sided after all.

Maybe…she felt the same way?

………………..

"I didn't know you could play guitar, Selphie," Kairi said, as Sora plopped down between her and Tidus.

"I only started the beginning of the summer, but I'm getting the hang of it," Selphie said, striking a jarring chord before correcting her finger placement. She stroked over the strings once or twice with her pick. Finally, she found the D chord, her fingers curving around the last three strings.

_When you walk away_  
_You don't hear me say  
__Please, oh baby,  
__Don't go  
__Simple and clean is the way  
__That you're making me feel  
__Tonight  
__It's hard to let it go…_

She stopped suddenly and cleared her throat, then began strumming again.

_You're giving me too many things_  
_Lately you're all I need  
__You smiled at me, and said  
__Wish I could prove I love you  
__But does that mean I have to walk on water?  
__When we are older you'll understand  
__It's enough  
__When I say so  
__And maybe some things are that simple…_

_Hold me  
__Whatever lies beyond this morning  
__Is a little later on  
__Regardless of warnings  
__The future doesn't scare me at all  
__Nothing's like before…_

Selphie lifted her pick, and she blushed, accidentally dropping it into the body of the guitar.

"Selph, that was amazing! Don't tell me you wrote that…?" Kairi exclaimed. Selphie nodded sheepishly. Sora was grinning and shaking his head in awe.

"She's doing it at the talent show at school in a couple weeks, with this kid Irvine on the piano," Tidus said, on his back and setting the blitzball up and down over his face with his fingertips.

"Bet you'd like to do something like that with that new girl, eh? Yuna?" Wakka said slyly, poking the younger boy in the stomach and making him curl up in reflex.

Tidus spluttered and sat up, turning bright red and looking daggers at Wakka as the older boy laughed. He grumbled to himself and grinned as he threw the blitzball at his friend.

"I'm gettin' kinda hungry, ya?" Wakka remarked, catching the ball and sitting up straighter.

"You worked off all those snacks _already_?" Selphie asked incredulously, rolling her eyes.

"Well…ya!"

Suddenly, a distant voice reached their ears.

"Sora!"

The brunette turned toward the source of the noise, eyes scanning the placid island sand until he saw Goofy, leaning out of the wooden door that led to the other side of the island.

"Sora, come on! We got a transmission from Mister Leon!"

Sora's eyes widened, and he and Kairi exchanged a look before they scrambled up and climbed hurriedly down to the beach below, and ran to follow the knight.

The Gummi Ship was perched precariously, its front and back end on two of the broken pieces of dock, straddling the gap. Sora gave Kairi a leg up into the hatch, and they clambered in.

Donald was staring at the dashboard with a stern look on his face as Sora, Kairi, and Goofy scaled the small ladder into the upper cockpit. He turned to look as they came over, and turned up a small dial.

Sora leaned in, listening carefully, Kairi looking over his shoulder.

Leon's deep and careful voice crackled over the small speaker, the tone heightened with anxiety.

"Sora, Donald,--fy—Hollow Bastion is over—less—_dammit_, the—ordinates are 240, 314, 27—ee, 671—keyhole—send word as soon as poss--"

The message stopped. A pleasant female voice echoed, "End of message. Sender Squall Leonhart, recipient Highwind Gummi Ship #0328. To erase this message, press 7 now."

Donald pushed the stop button on the machine and looked expectantly and worriedly up at the Keyblade master.

Sora stared unseeing at the dashboard, the heaviness of the call masking the possible humor in how much Leon would hate the radio referring to him as "Squall." Kairi swallowed hard and her hand brushed against Sora's.

"Play it again?" he asked rather hoarsely. Donald replayed it, the stutters in reception not enough to mask the desperation in Leon's voice. Sora frowned again, not saying a word, as it finished again.

Suddenly, a crash from below startled them all. Riku's face appeared over the lip of the hatch, and he levered himself up.

"What's up?" he asked urgently, looking questioningly from Sora to Kairi. She plugged her ears to block out the sound as Donald replayed the message a third time.

Riku, however, looked unfazed. He leaned forward over the dash, tracing a finger over the world map and muttering to himself. Finally he looked up.

"Those coordinates—can you show me where they'd put us?" he asked. Donald complied, guessing that the "ee" syllable they had heard at the end of the stutter stood for "three".

"Whaa?" he exclaimed in confusion as a glowing crosshair appeared in the world map, at least an inch away from the coordinates the Navi-Gummi had been leading them toward before they had landed on the Islands.

Riku stood up straight, bewildered.

"Let's try sending a radio signal that way…?" Kairi suggested in a small voice.

Donald picked up a pair of headphones and handed them silently to Sora, who put them on and adjusted the small microphone to sit in front of his mouth. A few moments passed in tense silence before reception finally crackled over the speakers.

"Leon?" Sora said, louder than necessary, into the microphone.

"No…it's Yuffie! Is that you, Sora?" Her voice was high-pitched and trembling.

"Yeah, it's me! Are you guys okay?"

"We're alive, if that counts as 'okay.'"

Suddenly there was a scuffle and another voice came over the headphones.

"Sora! Do you copy?"

"Yes, I'm here, Leon. What's going on?"

"There's these…these people in black leather coats. They just showed up, but they're wreaking havoc. I have no idea what they're trying to do, but we've kept out of their way for the most part."

"The Thirteenth Order? The Organization?"

"I think so, but the Heartless are the more pressing issue here. Sora, you've got to get over here or we're going to be overrun."

There was some distant yelling, which Kairi recognized immediately as Cloud, then Yuffie's voice.

"Cloud…?"

"What's hap--"

"O-oh my God!"

"Aer--"

Silence.

Sora pressed the headphones roughly against his ears, his eyes widening.

"Leon? _LEON_! Squall, do you copy!"

His eyes came up to meet Kairi's and Riku's. The line had gone dead.

"You don't think…"

Kairi grasped the hilt of her sword, her knuckles whitening as she tightened her grip, hoping to relieve some of the tension wracking her body.

"Are we going, or what?" Donald asked sharply.

"Going?" Sora asked slowly.

Riku looked at him incredulously.

"Sora…tell me you weren't seriously thinking we would be here to stay. Please, tell me that right now."

Sora looked down uncomfortably. "I…just didn't think we'd have to leave so soon…" he murmured regretfully.

"Listen, Sora. I promised myself I wouldn't come back here until the darkness was gone…completely. And yet here I am. Maybe this place…should be just a safe haven we can count on. In the meantime, we can't forget what we're supposed to be doing up there," Riku said flatly, jabbing one gloved thumb towards the sky. "Just because we're home again doesn't mean you can give up being the Keyblade master, because let's face it—that's what you are."

"Let's go, right now!" Kairi volunteered, gripping the headrest of the closest pilot seat.

Sora avoided her eyes.

"Kai—the Organization is there. You can't…I…"

"I don't care, I want to help!"

"I…Kairi, you're a Princess of Heart…I can't let you come."

Kairi stared at him in disbelief. He looked torn in two, with the headphones hanging uselessly around his neck and his Keyblade swinging against his leg. He bit his lip and met her eyes.

Riku looked with mild interest from Sora to Kairi, the corner of his lip tilting into a slight smile. They seemed to have forgotten all about the rest of the group.

"If it makes you feel any better, Kairi, I'm staying here," Riku spoke into the silence. Sora looked at him, surprised.

"What?" Riku said, shrugging. "Think I'll get a big hearty welcome from those idiots? They probably want me more than Kairi. I'm the Organization member who not only deserted, but did it with the Keyblade master and a Princess of Heart in tow."

"But--"

"Trust me, Sora. You won't want me on your hands when they see you've shown up."

He gave a short salute farewell, and clambered out of sight into the lower cabin. A second passed, then his face appeared again.

"It's…all right with you, right?"

"Yeah…sure."

"Sorry, man."

He paused.

"Keep the islands' coordinates in the data bank, will you? Something seems fishy about them."

"Uh…yeah, sure."

Riku went back down.

Kairi sighed in defeat, clasping her hands in their accustomed place behind her back. Sora looked at her apologetically. She glanced up and gave him a half-smile.

"Just remember—you made a promise to me once. Come back to me, okay?"

He grinned.

"Don't worry. I won't forget."

He took the headphones off his neck and tossed them on the seat, and he wrapped her in a tight hug. Her arms encircled his neck, on her tiptoes to accommodate his height. Despite herself, she could feel pain deep within her chest, as if she was already aching with anxiety for his safety. She held him closer as she shut her eyes tightly. She wanted so badly to come with him…

A sudden warmth enveloped her as Sora hesitated and kissed her cheek, and she felt a blush rise from the spot his lips had brushed. Slightly dazed, her eyes slid open slowly and saw by his expression that he was just as shocked he did it as she was. Both tried to hide their smiles as they abruptly broke apart, and Kairi turned to climb down the ladder as he sat in the co-pilot seat.

Her eyes focused on nothing as she clambered her way out of the gummi ship; it seemed she was on auto-pilot as her thoughts whirled. She found herself on the wooden staircase leading up to the sand-covered steppe near the broken bridge a moment later, staring at the ship as it sputtered to life. A faint orange glow emanated from the rockets. She glanced up at the glass dome, her face still hot, and saw Sora's profile appear behind the glass. He was busily operating the ship, one hand pressing the radio headphones to his ear and the other making ready to launch. His face was set and stern, his Keyblade-master façade in place, not knowing that Kairi was watching him intently.

She smiled and gave a small wave as the ship slowly lifted off from the dock, the loose piece falling into the shallows as it always did under stress, and turn to point its armored nose at an angle upward. A deafening blast shook the island as it gunned away and was lost in the deep blue sky.

………………………………….

_"We've never tried that way before," Sora said, his finger tapping against the screen and biting his lip._

"_It must be there for a reason," Goofy mused, putting one gloved finger to his mouth as if thinking hard. "Why don't we give it a try?"_

_Sora stood up and squinted at the world below them, trying to see beyond the castle's depths._

"_I guess," he answered quietly._

_Donald confirmed the disembarkment by pressing a few buttons, and lifted his hands from the controls. The joystick was moving slowly left and right as if moved by some invisible force as the gummi ship descended through the atmosphere of Hollow Bastion._

_A slight chill ran up Sora's spine as a few electronic sounds echoed in the silence, and the words 'Disembark: Mountain Plain' flashed innocently on the small dashboard. Anxious, he moved to the back to look as far down as he could out the rounded dome window. They were descending slowly toward a deserted, brown terrain._

_Finally the gummi ship shuddered to a stop in the portal, and Sora, Donald, and Goofy climbed down into the lower cabin and out of the ship. The vessel abruptly shot upward, leaving only a rotating green portal in its place. Sora stepped into it for a moment before the three set off from the portal._

_A cold wind whistled over the towering hills that lined the plain, tall and threatening on either side of the flat terrain. Hollow Bastion was a distant shadow, only the heartless insignia visible in the sunset's glare._

_Sora frowned and looked about. The place was completely unspectacular. Why would there be a disembark point here, of all places…?_

"_What's going on…?"_

_Suddenly, a tremor shook the ground beneath their feet. Donald squawked and jumped a foot in the air, while Goofy lost his footing completely. Sora looked about frantically, and all three stumbled into a heap as the ground shook more fiercely._

_All three scrambled to their feet, and looking west, away from the castle, saw distant shadows approaching…_

"_Behemoths," Donald said fearfully._

"_Let's get outta here!" Goofy cried, grabbing his hat where it had gone askew._

_All three pelted toward the castle, disregarding the gummi ship portal in the mountain peaks. Hollow Bastion wasn't far now, just about half a mile to the edge of the Rising Falls._

_But there was something blocking their way._

_Many…many somethings._

_A veritable army of Heartless was marching slowly toward the lone threesome, thousands upon thousands of waist-height and flying creatures of darkness. Among them were not one, not three, but nine behemoths; they churned up impossibly high clouds of dust as they trudged slowly but surely along the plains._

_Sora stopped dead, his eyes widening and his mouth agape. His hand clutched impulsively in midair as he realized there was an army of equal and possibly greater size approaching from behind as well._

_They were going to encircle them._

_Sora bent into battle stance and swung his arm out taut to his right, and the Keyblade materialized within his grasp. He looked about frantically, surveying the chaos they were about to entread upon._

_He looked about at his fellows. Donald and Goofy were back-to-back with him, and as he turned to glance at them, they grinned and flashed him thumbs-up._

_He exhaled forcefully, and putting both hands on his blade, yelled out fiercely as all three pelted towards the horde of darkness…_

……………………….

Wow, CLIFFIE ALERT! Teehee, sorry guys, I had to do it! It'll make the next chapter a lot cooler, I promise. And it will be up soon.

I LOVE REVIEWS! Press the button below, you know you want to! Or else I'll be sad. Or mad. And I'll get Kxerrix to send her army of Yellow Operas at you. (Yay Kikofreako! I heart your story.)


	13. Flight from Hollow Bastion

Welcome to chapter thirteen! Never thought I'd make it here…and it's not over yet! Oh-ho…not over yet by a long shot. I'm thinking there are about five or six chapters left, so don't fret. This has been an awesome ride, I'm glad it's finally building to the climax!

* * *

Chapter Thirteen: Flight from Hollow Bastion

Kairi climbed onto her neatly made bed, peeling back the covers that had been unslept in for so long, and wriggled her thin frame between the sheets. She settled back onto the pillow, willing the knot in her stomach to untie itself.

On a whim, she glanced up at the window overlooking her bed. She reached up and tugged at a cord, and the shades sprang up. Moonlight poured in, and she sat up momentarily to press her hands against the glass, gazing out. The stars glimmered innocently in the clear night, and the moon shone its brightest.

She sighed as she looked toward the northeast, her eyes flicking upward to the largest of the stars: Hollow Bastion.

A frown creased her brow as she settled back onto the pillow, glaring slightly at the moon. She wished she knew less of the night sky's secrets…for one, that the stars held danger and not beauty.

There she lay for hours, staring at the ceiling and willing herself to sleep. But every time she closed her eyes, some horrifying image would shake her awake again. What was taking Sora so long?

_Calm down_, she told herself. _You haven't even given him twenty-four hours yet_.

It was true, she knew. But it was almost painful, sitting on her island home as helpless as any of the other inhabitants. Sure, Riku was just a couple doors down, and he had a sword and magic to boot, but…it was just him and her. No one else.

Just as the sky began to turn the red glare of dawn, she glanced furtively at the open door. She could hear Sora's mother's even breathing, signaling that she was asleep, in the next room over.

Not quite knowing what she was doing, Kairi sat up and quickly dressed: Yuffie's shorts, Aerith's boots, Leon's sword, and her own clothing. She looked at herself in the mirror quickly, flattening her bed-hair and marveling slightly at where she was. She could still remember laughing with her two friends in Yuffie's bedroom as they tried to find Kairi a decent battle outfit like it was yesterday. That had been in an entirely different world—the thought was staggering.

She climbed back onto her bed, the sword tapping against her leg as it swung in its sheath. She unlocked the window, considered for a moment, then unhooked the sword and left it on the bed. She paused again, then tiptoed to the desk to write Sora's mom a quick note.

"Gone to the Islands for the day, couldn't sleep. Be back in time for dinner. Hopefully Sora will too. Love, Kairi"

Kairi left it on her pillow, then climbed out the window and shut it quietly so she wouldn't wake her adopted mother.

Within the hour, she was sitting on the small islet with the paopu tree on the children's island. She sat in the sand, leaning back against its trunk, toying with a stray palm frond that had fallen in one of the summer squalls that often ravaged the islands. The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon.

"What're you doing here so early?"

The sudden voice startled Kairi, and she jumped and whipped around. She sighed in relief as she saw Riku making his way up the pier.

"Uh, likewise…?"

Riku stopped, as if he hadn't been anticipating the question.

"Oh…I, uh…aw, fine. I was following you."

He dropped to the ground beside her, splaying out on his back and putting his hands behind his head to pillow it from the sand.

She gave him a playful stern look. "What for? I can take care of myself."

"Still…I didn't do such a good job of protecting you the first time. So what if I'm trying to redeem myself?"

"I guess it's okay then," she told him, smiling. She scanned the horizon, her eyes panning the sunrise without even thinking. She had done this countless times before.

"What're you doing?"

"Watching for Sora."

"…you did this every single day while we were gone, didn't you?"

"Well…yeah."

Riku smiled, satisfied, and brushed the hair from his eyes.

"How long do you think it'll take him?" she asked quietly, not quite sure if she was asking herself or the silver-haired teenager on the ground beside her.

"I don't know…" he said, serious for the first time since he'd shown up. "That guy…what's his name, Leon, sounded pretty damn desperate. And if he's anything like Sora, it takes a lot to get a person like him worked up. Hollow Bastion is..."

He paused.

"Let's give them another day. If they're not back by then, we'll--"

Kairi looked at him.

"We'll…what?"

Riku exhaled forcefully and glanced at her.

"I guess that's a bit of a complication there…"

She looked at her lap and shifted uncomfortably. She could hear Riku sigh in frustration beside her.

"Man…you really like him, don't you?"

Her eyes widened at this and she looked at Riku swiftly, quite sure her face was reddening. Unconsciously her hands flew up to cover her cheeks in an unwontedly girlish gesture.

Riku chuckled, his eyes closing lazily as he shifted on the sand.

"That's what I thought. Not that you two didn't make it as painfully obvious as it was…"

Kairi still couldn't speak. She mouthed incoherently, her face getting redder by the second, staring at Riku. He turned his head to meet her eyes, mirth in the aqua and shock in the blue.

"Hey, I'm not poking fun at you, Kairi. I'm just…making an observation."

She was silent, though she was having trouble masking a guilty smile from tilting her lips.

He sat up and nudged her in the shoulder. "You two are sickening. It's like you've skipped past all of us. It's not the shallow, girlfriend and boyfriend, I-might-break-up-with-you thing. I dunno…"

He looked down at his lap, clasping his hands and leaning over his bent knees.

"Sora…deserves you."

Kairi couldn't believe what she was hearing. Here she was listening to a boy she'd known her entire life, whom she was quite sure had felt something for her before, talking about…this? That was how he had gotten himself into the darkness mess, after all—trying to find a way to save her without corrupting himself. Dimly she could remember the things he said while she had been without heart…it was enough to make her blood run cold, the threats he made on her behalf.

"Wow, Riku…I…"

He laughed and ruffled her hair.

"See, I'm not as thick as you think. I notice _some_ stuff."

She laughed and tried to stop the gloved attack on her head, but the older boy was too strong for her. They arm-wrestled in midair, before ceasing and sitting long into the morning in silence.

………………

"Get us out of here!" Goofy yelled in a panic as Sora slammed the gummi ship's hatch shut, his fingers slipping on the handle.

Donald leapt onto the pilot seat, the momentum bouncing him up and down on the cushioned seat as he hurried to start the ignition. Goofy scrambled up the ladder behind Sora, and they crashed into the upper cabin.

Suddenly Sora dropped to the floor, sprawled spread-eagled on his back. Goofy tripped over him and caught himself between the two pilot seats before he hit the floor.

"Sora! Are you okay?" the knight asked anxiously, scrambling up. Sora's gloved hand waved wearily at him, alerting Goofy to his consciousness.

"I'm fine," he said breathlessly. "Just…overdid it…"

Goofy nodded and collapsed into the co-pilot seat, winded as well.

Sora dropped his arm back to his side, still flat on his back on the cabin floor. He breathed heavily, bringing both hands up to push the hair back from his face. Sweat was beading on his forehead, and he lifted the edge of his jacket to wipe it away.

He tried to sit up, but suddenly the ship lifted off and he was slammed against the floor again with the force of the takeoff. He remained there, sprawled, for several heart-hammering moments until he felt the familiar lilt that always shook the ship once it exited an atmosphere. He staggered up to a sitting position, and after a moment stood completely up. His hands were trembling slightly from the exerted effort he'd expended all in twenty minutes on the battlefield.

"You all right?" Donald asked him, one-handedly passing him an Elixir. Sora took it from the mage's hand gratefully and squeezed it until it shattered over his head.

"I am now," he replied. "Thanks, Donald."

"No problem."

"I…can't believe it…how'd it get that bad? Aren't Leon and Cloud and everyone there? Why were there so many Heartless?"

Donald shook his head.

"And we had to leave before we even got back to the castle…" he muttered, shaking his head.

Goofy peered out the window, shading his eyes with one gloved hand.

"Where to now? Back to your Islands, Sora?"

"Might as well," he said, leaning one arm on each headrest and hanging his head low between his two companions, his eyes out the front window. "Did we get any more reception on the radio yet?"

Goofy looked up, as if he'd just remembered. "I forgot! Let me start 'er up."

Donald muttered his annoyance.

Goofy picked up the headphones and tapped a few buttons on the console, frowning as he listened intently.

"Leon," he said, trying to dictate his words as clearly as possible. "Come in, Leon. Highwind Gummi Ship to Holler Bastion."

Nothing happened.

"Holler Bastion, come in!" Goofy tried again.

Sora jumped slightly as a high-pitched tone sounded over the radio. Goofy lost his head completely and topped backwards off the pilot seat, clutching his ears. Sora hurriedly picked up the headphones where they'd dropped and put them on. The Keyblade materialized in his other hand.

"Hollow Bastion, come in!"

A cold shock of dread swept his body as sound came over the speakers. Sobbing.

"Hello? Who's there?"

"S—S—Sora?"

"Yuffie!" he cried, his brow knitting with concern. "Yuffie…what's the matter!"

"I—I—I…oh my God…"

She dissolved into sobs once again. Sora swallowed hard, the crying so pitiful he nearly felt the urge to tear up himself. He fought to keep his composure.

"Yuffie, don't…please don't cry…what is it?"

"Sora…Aerith and Cloud…they're missing! We didn't see what happened, we just—"

"What?!"

"We found…I don't know, we found blood and we're…we're not sure whose it is--"

The reception crackled and died.

…………………………….

_Interlude Four_

"_Why did you bring me here?" the blonde teenager asked roughly._

"_You chose to come," the mysterious crimson-clad man replied quietly._

"_What do you want?"_

"_I need someone who can destroy the Thirteenth Order."_

_The blonde stared at him. He hadn't expected DiZ to be so…so direct._

"_You walk the path of twilight. You can manipulate the light and yet tread fearlessly in darkness. But you know little of the light which you wield."_

_The teenager lifted his keyblades, glancing down at them. A small pink and white charm dangled from the silver, and a black-as-night crown shape from the other._

"_Who are you talking about? Me…or Sora?"_

"_Sora is no longer in a position to complete the task. His memories have been shuffled, rearranged—for all intensive purposes, he remembers nothing of this place."_

_The teenager nodded._

"_What I'm asking you to do will seem like a betrayal, but it's absolutely necessary. I'm…asking you to join the Organization."_

"_What? Are you insane?"_

_DiZ laughed quietly. "I wish I could say I was. It would excuse the insanity of the task itself."_

_One golden eye gleamed at the boy from across the room. The blonde shifted uneasily under the elder's piercing gaze._

"_You are a shell—a mere shadow of one who has lost his heart to darkness and returned again. So it is with the rest of the Order. There will be little suspicion."_

_The boy nodded. "And…that's it? I join, and destroy them from within?"_

"_It's not that simple."_

"_Should've known…"_

"_You will be a part of their operations. Any plans they devise, you are to take part in without question, so they will not suspect you. For the task they are trying to complete now will be their downfall, if we succeed. You will see only this task through to the end—but doing so will make you an enemy to Sora."_

_The blonde looked up, shocked._

"_You must not stop doing it, no matter what happens."_

_The teenager swallowed hard, bracing himself._

"_What do I have to do?" he asked, his face set._

………………………

Woohoo! You guys got out of what could have been an uber-fluffy chapter, but it didn't turn out working with the plot, so I completely cut it out. Let's just say that Kairi wasn't going to be spending that sunrise with Riku, but rather with another spiky-haired hero…and it wasn't going to be so platonic. :-D

This chapter was really short--I decided to cut out a four-page-long scene to stick in the next chapter. I figured leaving you on a bit of a cliffie would be more effective.

Yeah…this story is getting quite complicated. And frankly, very dark. I'm surprised at myself.

I'm off to write the next chapter. Leave reviews!


	14. Missing in Action

_Tidus_: -throwing chips everywhere-  
_Per_: Hey, hey! Just because I let you guys have a party doesn't mean you can—  
_Selphie_: Make a mess?  
_Per_: Yes, that's ri—ARGH! –knocked over by blitzball-  
_Wakka_: Look, I'm sorry about that, ya?  
_Per_: Gah, it's okay…  
_Sora_: Can you believe it? Your story's AU now.  
_Kairi_: Yeah! Now that Kingdom Hearts II's out, your story's alternate-universe.  
_Per_: Yeah, it kinda sucks. But don't worry—it means I can write my OWN ending without having to worry about sticking to canon.  
_Riku_: Whaddya mean by that?  
_Per_: Well…-devious smile-  
_Sora and Kairi_: -raise eyebrows-

Chapter fourteen has arrived! Sorry it took so long. I had the little in-italics interlude written for a while, but it didn't make sense in the last chapter, so I included it here.

Kingdom Hearts II is officially released in Japan, and friends of mine have already seen the ending, the beginning, and all the stuff in between. I'm going anti-spoiler. So that means that this story is now AU. It was originally supposed to be MY version of the sequel to KH1, but now it's going to have to be AU. It will bear little similarities to the actual game events because, well, I'm not psychic, alas.

**THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. READ THIS.**

Since I'm going spoiler-free, I DO NOT want to see spoilers of ANY kind in the reviews you post from here on in! I don't care if they're widely known, semi-spoilers, or whatnot. I do not want ANY. And if I see them, I will stop writing the story. Thank you!

Enjoy Chapter Fourteen! The next chapter will follow very soon.

* * *

Chapter 14: Missing in Action

"Come on, I wanna see PICTURES!"

Selphie bounded into the living room, where Kairi was sitting on the couch flipping through channels on the small television with a highly disinterested look on her face. The younger girl sat beside her, putting down a glass of lemonade on the coffee table for Kairi and sipping one herself.

"Er, okay…but let me just remind you, this wasn't a vacation we went on, Selph."

"I don't care, I still wanna see pictures!"

Kairi smiled, and leaning over, rummaged through her duffel bag and pulled out a battered instant-print camera, and an assortment of Polaroid shots tied together with a length of twine.

"Eesh. Should I buy you a new one for your birthday?"

Kairi laughed. "Nah, I've got one. This one used to be Cid's…he sort of…dropped it off a balcony in the library by accident once."

Selphie chuckled, smiling with a bemused look in her eyes. Kairi knew she still wasn't quite certain of all the names of her friends in other worlds. In fact, she wasn't completely convinced that Selphie fully believed that they even existed.

She untied the Polaroid prints, stacking them neatly. Selphie leaned over her shoulder.

"Ooh, that's pretty. Where's that?"

Kairi lifted the photo, bringing it close to her face. It was a shot she'd taken from the lowermost iceberg in the Rising Falls, and she could just barely make out Leon's figure on the top one. Hollow Bastion rose majestically in the background, the setting sun reflecting off the massive copper pipes.

"Hollow Bastion," Kairi said after a moment. Selphie's eyes widened, staring at the picture.

Next was a mess-up shot: Yuffie had accidentally pressed the shutter button while she was inspecting the lens for smudges. Her face took up the entire frame, her skin pasty white from the flash and her eyes wide in surprise as the picture was snapped.

"That's Yuffie," Kairi said, pointing. "But…there's probably a better picture of her somewhere…"

Selphie smiled eagerly, completely convinced of Kairi's story now that she was seeing pictures.

Kairi slowly riffled through the pictures. One: she and Aerith pulling a gun mage pose atop one of the bookcases in the library, back-to-back and grinning at the camera. Two: a shot Kairi had taken quickly as Cid had come into the castle with his face covered in soot from his gummi ship. Three: a picture Leon had taken of Kairi while she was training. Cloud was standing behind her, his sword extended at the same angle as hers in his right hand, his left hand adjusting her sword-arm.

Selphie suddenly squealed.

"Ooh, cutie alert!"

Kairi did a double-take from the picture to Selphie, a somewhat shocked look on her face. Finally she laughed, smacking one hand to her forehead.

"What's so funny? He's hot!"

Kairi continued to giggle, completely taken aback by Selphie's comment. It was…Cloud! A person she'd known since childhood, if what Leon told her was true. She couldn't remember it, but somehow, the blonde swordsman felt like he had a certain place in her heart even if she couldn't recall her youngest years. And now, to hear Selphie referring to him as a "hottie"?

"Yeah, I guess he's all right. But, he's taken."

She flipped to the next picture, which Kairi had taken from behind without the two knowing, of Aerith and Cloud hand-in-hand walking along one of the outside balconies near the front gates, the sunset clearly visible behind their figures.

Selphie shook her head. "I can't win, can I?"

Kairi nudged her hard in the shoulder. "Hey…no trying to steal Cloud from Aerith, okay?"

"Eh, his name's Cloud? Mmm…mysterious. I like it."

Kairi heaved a great exaggerated sigh of defeat, grinning. The next picture was of Leon in the castle kitchens, sitting back in a wooden chair with his feet on the table, glancing sidelong at the camera with a somewhat surprised look on his face. His eyebrows were raised and he looked slightly amused.

"Leon," Kairi told Selphie, looking for her reaction.

"Wow. He's kinda cute too."

"AGH! I give up. Let's just say they're all hot and be done with it!" Kairi cried, laughing.

"Fine with me!" Selphie agreed, looking completely sincere.

Kairi wiped tears of mirth from her eyes and leaned back over the stack of pictures in her lap. Selphie leaned closer to look.

"In all seriousness though…these people look…so interesting. It's so weird to think they're in another world…"

"Mmm…" Kairi murmured in assent.

"Leon looks pretty serious, though. Is he any fun at all?"

"Sure. I mean, he doesn't smile that much, but he's not too stiff either. He's probably one of the easiest people to talk to that I know."

"Really."

"Not to mention that he and Yuffie need to stop flirting like mad and DO something about it!"

Kairi's outburst was so sudden Selphie jumped slightly. Kairi laughed, shaking her head. She flipped to the next picture. She stared for a moment, lost in thought.

Yuffie had taken this shot quickly during their trip up to the Heartless-infested Grand Hall. The edge of the Great Crest was just visible behind Leon, Kairi, Cloud, and Aerith. Leon was looking at the camera by chance, his mouth slightly agape with teeth gritted. He did not look angry—simply resigned. Kairi was behind him, looking uneasily at the ground as she walked, her sword over her shoulder and her face very obviously paling. Cloud and Aerith walked side-by-side, Aerith clutching her staff with eyes closed, and Cloud looking at something over Aerith's head, staring out to the horizon beyond the edge of the Crest. No emotion was evident in his stern face at all.

"Mmm," Selphie murmured, frowning slightly at the photo. "That's not a happy picture."

Kairi shook her head slightly. She flipped to the next picture.

She was on to later pictures now. It was a candid shot, taken from far away. Riku stood against the white-grey pallor of Belle's castle, his hands in the pockets of his Organization coat. The King was in front of him, and they were apparently deep in conversation. She hadn't heard anything they were saying…she wished she knew, now, looking at the picture.

The next picture, she had taken before Sora had noticed she was taking it. His expression was mildly surprised, his eyebrows raised and his mouth open as if he were about to say something. The interior of the gummi ship was visible behind him.

Kairi flipped to the next picture she had. She suddenly wished she hadn't, and tried to cover it with her hand before Selphie saw. But the younger girl was too quick for her, snatching the picture from under Kairi's fingers.

Selphie looked at it and grinned, glancing at Kairi mischievously. Kairi blushed and smiled, looking at the picture Selphie had in her lap.

Riku had evidently found the camera on the gummi ship during the trip from Belle's castle, and had snapped a picture of the snoozing Sora and Kairi in the bench seat in the back of the cabin. Whether he had been intending to use it for blackmail or to tease them later, she didn't know. Sora's head was leaning against the window, his eyes shut and lips slightly parted in sleep. Kairi's head was on his shoulder, her hair nearly covering her face, clearly fast asleep slumped against Sora. His arm was slightly curled around her.

"Cute," Selphie said, grinning. "That's really, really cute."

………………………

Donald was gripping the steering tighter than usual, his eyebrows turned upward and a saddened frown on his face. Goofy had his elbows propped on his knees, leaning over with his folded hands under his chin, his sad eyes downcast.

Sora sat between the pilot seats, leaning against Donald's with his sneakers against Goofy's, on the floor with arms folded and eyes closed.

The trip had been completely silent since Sora had ended the radio transmission.

All three jumped slightly as a scale of electronic beeps suddenly broke the pressing silence.

"Approaching coordinates," said a small voice over the radio.

"Oh, uh…thanks, Chip 'n' Dale," Goofy replied, sitting up and shaking himself out of the stupor he'd been in for the past hour.

Sora looked up. Donald stood up on his seat, propping himself on the steering wheel.

"Er…"

Sora slowly pulled himself up, shaking his head to clear it. A dull ache still throbbed somewhere behind his eyes. Sora was sure the grief over Aerith's sudden passing would catch up with him full-force eventually…though his eyes still burned every time the thought recurred to him.

"Sora?"

"Yeah," he responded quietly.

"I, uh…can't see your island."

Sora frowned, suddenly more alert, leaning over to peer out the window. Nothing but stars…

He looked quickly at the radar. In about two minutes, they would be right on top of the coordinates. And yet, it wasn't there. No blip or comforting red mass could be seen on the small dashboard.

Suddenly something in Sora's chest tightened. Fear laced every nerve in his body.

"You don't think…the Heartless…took it?"

Goofy whimpered slightly.

"No…"

Sora felt his heart skip a beat.

"Kairi…Riku?"

The coordinates were rapidly approaching. A sudden warmth spread from deep in his chest. His gloved hand flew up to cover it.

But…she…my heart's a part of hers. Wouldn't I have felt her…?

Suddenly he steeled his resolve. He pushed himself to his feet again, frowning stubbornly.

"Don't stop. Wait until we hit those coordinates."

"Sora," Donald began, looking sadly up at the teenager. "It's gone, Sora. Look for yourself…"

"No…" Sora interrupted, his hand plunging into the pocket that held Kairi's charm, trying to make his voice confident. "It's there."

Goofy looked from Sora to Donald, as if he couldn't decide whom to believe. Finally he settled on staring hopefully out the front window, clutching his shield.

Silence pressed on the cabin as the next thirty seconds passed, each moment dwindling what little confidence Sora had in his claim. The charm in his pocket rested softly against his fingertips, and he squeezed one of its pointed tips between his index finger and thumb in anxiety.

Five…four…three…

Suddenly the ship lurched violently to the right, the front gummi blocks crumpling and springing back before their eyes. Sora let out a nervous and triumphant laugh. It was the disembarkment point. They had crashed into the atmosphere.

But…where were the Islands?

Donald, slightly encouraged, propelled the ship backward, then gunning the rocket launchers, went careening toward the spot they'd struck.

Sora shut his eyes tightly, screwing up his face and bracing himself. Every fiber of him was hoping, praying…

And then they were through.

Sora tentatively opened one eye, then the other. He exhaled in pure relief.

The Islands were beneath them.

"Phew…"

Donald sighed and rapped his head against the steering wheel. "Some sort of masking device," he muttered. "It's just hiding behind something…"

Sora breathed deeply, trying to slow his racing heart. He fingered the charm in his pocket, the braided cord wrapped around one finger.

"I almost broke my promise…"

"What was that, Sora?"

"Nothing."

He stared down at the Islands. What had that been about? Why had they become completely invisible? It was a near-miracle that Riku had reminded him to save the coordinates in the data bank. Otherwise, they may never have found it again…

"Something's fishy, that's for sure," Goofy said thoughtfully, frowning.

"Yeah," Sora remarked, slumping against the wall of the ship. "Nothing's like before, is it…?"

………………………

"_I'm gonna try to get down to that dock and get the ship runnin'…if I'm not back in five minutes, you'd better get your asses down there and get out of here. Don't worry about me," Cid told Leon sternly, his lip curling unpleasantly._

_Leon nodded his understanding and grasped the pilot's shoulder tightly and roughly in farewell. Cid shouldered his spear and ran out the open door to the upper level of the entrance hall, vaulting over the edge of the railing and out of sight._

"_I can't believe those guys followed the Heartless here," Yuffie said, biting her nails nervously. "Do you think Cloud and Aerith know yet?"_

_Leon swallowed hard. "I don't know," he answered her, rubbing at his forehead with one gloved hand. He could still remember seeing two shadowy figures smirking at him as they shattered the dome above the Grand Hall, just hours ago. They had fled just in time, before the intruders came up against three Defenders. They hadn't stuck around to see what would transpire between them._

_A sudden high-pitched electronic noise crackled over the device on the desk. Yuffie squealed and grabbed her ears, but recovered and grabbed the headphones of the old-fashioned radio. Her neatly combed hair went askew as she shoved them onto her head._

_Leon punched a few buttons on the console, cursed under his breath, and slammed it with his fist. Yuffie bit her lip in fright, but suddenly her face brightened._

"_No, it's Yuffie! Is that you, Sora?" she shouted louder than necessary into the receiver._

_Leon's eyes widened as Yuffie looked up at him, relief shining in her gaze. She paused, then said into the microphone, "We're alive, if that counts as 'okay'…"_

_Leon grabbed at the bridge of the earphones and tugged it off Yuffie's head, and she allowed him to without hesitation. She clasped her hands together tightly and shivered slightly, biting her lip. He pressed one earphone roughly to his head._

"_Sora, do you copy?"_

_A deeper voice than he had expected answered him, though it sounded somewhat familiar._

"_Yes, I'm here, Leon. What's going on?"_

_Leon's eyes shut in relief as he answered quickly, "There's these…these people in black leather coats. They just showed up, but they're wreaking havoc. I have no idea what they're trying to do, but we've kept out of their way for the most part."_

_A rattling shook the floor they were standing on. Yuffie whipped around fearfully, staring into the darkened hallway that led to the lift stop. One was coming down…_

"_The Thirteenth Order? The Organization?" Sora asked, his voice coming back over the headphones and spiking higher with anxiety; it was closer to the voice Leon remembered now._

_Leon shook his head roughly._

"_I think so, but the Heartless are the more pressing issue here. Sora, you've got to get over here or we're going to be overrun."_

_The radio crackled again._

"_S—Sora?" he tried, but the static was too loud for him to even hear himself think. Suddenly it occurred to him that they would be leaving—he shouldn't have told Sora to come, what had he been thinking?_

_Suddenly a pained yell came from deep into the lift stop hallway. Leon looked around, his heart stopping. It was Cloud, he was sure of it._

_He heard briefly the crash of the lift stop halting, and then a smattering of echoing, uneven footsteps. Yuffie was taking a few fearful steps into the threshold until suddenly a figure became visible in the darkness._

"_Cloud?"_

"_What's hap--"_

"_O-oh my God!"_

"_Aerith!"_

_Leon dropped the headphones. Sora's voice crackled, panicked, across the room, "Leon? LEON! Squall, do you co--" before it went dead. Leon flinched at the sound of his real name._

_Cloud stumbled into the library from the lift stop entrance, hardly keeping his footing and swaying from shock and vertigo. He was pale as death, his blonde hair matted and soaked with perspiration. Over his shoulder was Aerith, apparently unconscious, her boots swinging._

_Before he could reach the other two, something erupted from the floor—a solid mass of sheer darkness, a black void in a rushing whirlwind that whistled shrilly, blocking out all other sound._

_Leon didn't have time to think, to react; before he even knew what he was doing, his body acted on instinct. He threw himself to the right, barely keeping his footing as he scooped Yuffie up and threw her over his shoulder. He felt something graze his back, a white-hot tentacle of whatever it was that had appeared._

"_Cloud, RUN!" he shouted above the rushing wind, but the darkness cut him off, spreading with terrifying swiftness as he abandoned all reason and vaulted himself off the balcony, landing unsteadily on top of one of the wooden bookcases. Yuffie was shouting something into his numbed ears, clinging to the back of his shirt, his arm holding her legs securely against his front._

Don't run…Squall, you idiot, don't run away again…

_But he would not listen to his own self-bereavement. Whatever that thing was, if he hadn't gotten Yuffie out of the way, it would have—_

But Cloud and Aerith…

_For all he knew, the world around them had already crumbled, though the foundations of the castle were still standing._

………………………

He was quite sure no one had seen him leave. The small party at Selphie's house was probably still going on without him, though he wondered vaguely how Kairi hadn't figured out he'd disappeared. She was probably chasing after him right now…he hoped she wouldn't find him, at least not for a little while, until he found an answer to what he was looking for…

He wasn't sure what had brought him back here. All he knew was that if he was going to be stuck here, he may as well try to figure a few things out, to be somewhat useful once Sora came back for the two of them…

A hard-to-read expression was set firmly on Riku's features as he slowly stood up inside the mouth of the tunnel to the Secret Place. He rubbed the back of his neck, thoughtfully staring at the wooden door.

"Figures," he muttered under his breath.

His silver hair low over his brow, masking his eyes in shadow, he stepped toward the great door. His breath caught in his throat as a shadow flitted across the splintered planks.

Ever so subtly, the shadows grew deeper, seeming to pool near the center of the door. It curved into a vague shape of a keyhole and solidified. Riku's lip curled down as he glared at it. It was because of him, wasn't it…?

Last time he'd been in this spot, Sora had been there as well. A light to negate Riku's darkness. Maybe that's why it had never shown itself before.

It was the keyhole. He'd seen it once before, as a child, just before they'd gone to meet Kairi for the first time…

He could feel the rippling motion of the darkness in the keyhole mirroring within his own heart, and he resisted, clutching at his chest. His fingers slipped unsteadily over the smooth leather of his black coat as he doubled over, grimacing. His other hand flew out to steady himself against the cool rock face.

If he'd known it would do this to him, he never would have left.

For five interminable minutes he struggled with himself, trying to fight the pressing darkness down, to suppress it.

"No…it's not…he can't…_do_ this…"

He slid to his knees, his forehead against the door, the lip of the keyhole on his hairline. Under his breath, he cursed him, swearing in barely a whisper.

_If I stay here, I could…ruin everything._

He staggered to his feet again, slowly letting the darkness seep in. It was winning this time…

"I'm…I'm sorry, Kairi," he whispered. "Sora…"

His surrender was slow, but the darkness seeped in with surprising patience, as if it had known all along it would triumph in this struggle. Slowly he felt it flow through his veins, infiltrating the darkest recesses of his mind and heart…and he let himself go.

He pulled his hood up, ceasing the struggle, and closed his burning eyes. The image of the secret place swayed behind his closed eyelids. It was very possible that it would be the last time he saw it…the thought terrified him.

Gritting his teeth, he summoned his own dark portal…

……………………

-Bites nails-

Well, I would've continued it, but the chapter's long enough as it is. Sorry for yet another cliffhanger, you'll just have to wait for the next chapter! It'll be up very soon, since I'm on break, so don't fret.

REVIEWS PLEASE!


	15. The Memory

_Riku_: Man, this is getting way too angsty.  
_Sora_: But really cool at the same time!  
_Per_: Yeah, I'm a pro at angst. Don't worry, things'll look up soon.  
_Selphie_: I can't believe I'm stuck on this stupid island during this whole thing…  
_Tidus_: Yeah! This isn't any fun.  
_Wakka_: Well, think about it, brudda…Heartless there, Yuna here.  
_Tidus_: -face brightens- Good point.  
_Kairi_: Woot! Okay, disclaimer.  
_Per_: Right, thanks.  
_Kairi_: Perhelediel still doesn't own any part of Kingdom Hearts or KH2, any of us, any of our previous plotlines, or any Disney elements. All she really owns is the plotline of this story. Oh, and she doesn't own the quotes in italics during the chapter—they are taken directly from the script of KH1, from the scene with my grandmother.  
_Per_: Very good.

Hey guys! Just a quick warning—if you don't want the name of the BHK (Blonde Haired Kid) of KH2 spoiled for you, er, don't read this chapter. Though I hope that my frequenters won't stop just because of that…it's really not a huge spoiler, it's just his name. Also there's a few of the Order revealed—but not the Superior, so it's spoiler-free.

With that…enjoy Chapter Fifteen!

* * *

Chapter Fifteen: The Memory

Riku's boat was missing.

Kairi clutched at her necklace anxiously as she stared down at the rope floating in the water. He'd left their small get-together at Selphie's house quite early last night—it hadn't even struck 9:00 yet. She'd assumed he'd gone back home, and she'd slept over Selphie's house as planned. But then she'd gotten a call from Sora's panic-stricken mother…

She stared down at her own small boat.

What was taking Sora so long…?

She climbed down into her boat, loosening the rope that held it taut to the pier, and began rowing feverishly toward the children's island. She squinted toward it, the sun too bright for her to see it clearly.

A few minutes later, she was within shouting distance of the shoreline. She bit her lip as she searched behind the dock with her eyes…

_Yes! There it was!_

Riku's boat was floating beside the rickety old pier as she finally pulled up to the dock. She stood up, practiced feet steadying the boat while she straightened out and tied the boat to the pier before climbing up onto the roughened wooden boards. She ran down the stairwell onto the warm sand, her boots churning it up.

"Riku! Riku, are you here?"

Her own voice echoed across the ocean.

"Riku!"

She stopped, staring out to sea. Her shoulders dropped despondently.

Suddenly the thought occurred to her. The Secret Place. Yes, he was sure to be in there…maybe he'd fallen asleep or something.

Kairi ran as fast as her legs would take her up the ramp and onto the pebbled path that led to the Secret Place's entrance. She ducked and crawled along the tunnel, dirt staining the bare skin of her knees and elbows.

"Riku…?"

She stood up as soon as the tunnel was high enough to allow it, and emerged into the stuffy cavern. It was completely empty.

"Ri--"

Kairi cried out as she suddenly spotted something on the cave floor. She fell to her knees beside it, picking it up. Her trembling fingers turned it over in her hand.

One of Riku's gloves…

She bit her lip, staring in horror at the softened black leather glove in her grasp. She looked up.

There were sword-strokes in the surface of the wooden door. Not many, but just enough for her to make out. The glove dropped from her limp grasp as she shakily stood up, fear immobilizing her legs as her fingers traced around a very vague shadow of a keyhole shape in the wood.

Suddenly sheer panic pierced her heart, and picking up the glove where it lay, she hurried blindly out of the Secret Place. Sticks snagged at her hair in her haste, and she stumbled out into the bright sunshine of the Islands. She tripped down the ramp and dropped to her knees in the warm sand, the glove on her lap.

"Riku…where are you?"

"Kairi!"

Her head snapped up, her eyes opening and the bright sun flooding in, blinding her. She threw up a hand to shield her face as she heard it again.

"Kairi!"

Sora was running towards her along the beach. The door to the cove was swinging back and forth behind him.

"Sora…?"

"I'm back!"

He skidded to a stop in the sand, extending a hand to her. She took it and he pulled her to her feet.

"Come on, Kai, we've gotta hurry!"

Kairi couldn't think straight. She followed him blindly, his hand holding hers tightly and running back towards the cove. She spluttered incoherently until he finally noticed, and stopped dead.

"Kai—what's wrong!" he asked her, keeping a firm grip on her shoulders as he turned her to face him.

"R-Riku, he…he's gone!"

"What!"

"S-Sora, he…the Secret Place, I…" she stammered, grasping the glove in one balled fist and bringing it up in front of Sora's astonished eyes.

"What the…"

He took the glove from her, holding it with one gloved hand as she other pushed his bangs feverishly from his eyes.

"He…where could he have gone?"

Kairi shook her head, feeling her lower lip begin to tremble as she stared at Sora in bewilderment. He caught the look on her face and took her hand comfortingly. She stiffened slightly at his touch, but held his hand tightly.

"We'll find him. We'll find him, Kairi, don't worry!"

Kairi nodded fearfully, and her forehead fell against Sora. He caught her in surprise, his free arm encircling her. She slowly breathed out her panic against the comfort of Sora's shoulder as he bit his lip, glancing sidelong at her red hair against his cheek and praying to himself that saying it would make it true.

"C'mon, Kairi," he said as she pulled away from him. "We've gotta go back to Hollow Bastion."

"What?" she cried as they both ran through the door to the Cove. "You can't be serious! Isn't it overrun?"

"Leon and Yuffie and Cid are there—we gotta go help them out!"

"And Cloud and Aerith?"

Sora's heart skipped a beat as he helped her up into the gummi ship's hatch.

"Um…right, them too."

Kairi didn't catch the note of sadness in the Keyblade master's voice. Sora said no more, biting his lip and climbing in after her.

…………………………

Hollow Bastion was twilit. The Rising Falls seemed dark and forlorn. The never-setting sun had gone down for the first time they'd known, all the times they'd been there. The air was oppressive and dim, with just enough light to see by.

Sora carried two small rocket flares in his pocket. As a backup plan, Donald and Goofy were going to stay in the ship and hover around the castle until they saw a flare, at which point they'd swoop down to that location for a quick rescue. Donald also had pressed their last Ether into Sora's hand, in case he was out of magic when he needed to use Firaga to set off the flare.

Kairi exhaled forcefully and leapt from the smooth platform onto the next, her feet scrabbling as she landed unsteadily. Sora grabbed both her forearms and pulled her to her feet, and she started in shock as the platform rumbled to life and shot upward like an elevator. She felt her stomach drop, but soon Sora was pushing her hurriedly off the platform, and she stumbled onto the high-floating island in the Falls.

He leapt on after her, and they both stared at the castle in the distance, massive and imposing even from so far away.

Sora swung his Keyblade over his shoulder, and exhaling forcefully, strode forward and began to climb the stone steps. Kairi hesitated, still enraptured by the sight of the castle and dreading what they might find inside, worrying about the fate of her friends.

Kairi suddenly felt a hand go over her mouth from behind. She screamed into it, the sound almost completely muffled, as she was wrenched backward.

An odd, unpleasant feeling of vertigo swept over her as she missed the edge of the platform. The anticipated fall on her backside onto the ice never came, and it felt like the earth had disappeared from beneath her feet as she curved gracefully backward.

But suddenly, with a painful thud, she was flat on her back. Everything went dark for a moment, perhaps even for a split second, and she blinked her eyes open. A dull pain throbbed at the back of her head where it had struck the cobblestones.

"Sorry about that."

Kairi bolted upright. She nearly shrieked out in fright as she saw someone sitting directly in front of her, so close she nearly struck her as she sat up.

"Namine?"

The blonde witch nodded carefully, smiling halfway at the redhead.

Kairi stared, shaking slightly, still absorbing the shock of the fall. But then, Sora's familiar voice pierced the air.

"Kairi?"

She scrambled to her feet. She'd fallen to a small ledge behind the floating rock island. Sora was just over the edge, just a few feet above her.

"Will you stand _still_?" Namine chided fiercely, grabbing the back of Kairi's sweater vest in both fists as the redhead wildly grabbed for the damp ivy hanging over the edge.

"Sora! Down here!" Kairi cried, jumping and making wild grabs at the foliage and stammering between the effort, Namine's fist still firmly holding the back of her sweater.

"Shh!" Namine pleaded, her voice barely above a whisper. Suddenly a shadow passed over the two of them, and both girls looked up. Sora's head had appeared over the lip of the upper platform.

He slid off, dropping to their level, landing on his feet with a loud crunch of gravel.

"What the--"

Namine gave a small smile and waved at Sora.

"You're…Namine, right?"

"That's right."

"Er…sorry, Namine, but we're in a bit of a hurry here."

"If you'd gone any farther, you would've walked right into the Order's ambush. They're waiting just inside the Castle Gates. And another one of them was waiting at the top of those steps in case you tried to backtrack."

Sora balked, clearing his throat with his fist to his lips.

"Oh."

Kairi couldn't help but smile slightly. She glanced at Sora, who was looking slightly embarrassed.

"Namine, I…I was worried about you!" Kairi began, her hands wrung together as she spoke to the blonde artist before them. "You disappeared when Axel showed up, and I…"

"He sent me back to Castle Oblivion. It was no big deal. They can't afford to lose me," Namine said, looking rather shy as she told them the last part.

"What do you mean?"

"I've got the power to rearrange memories. Sora knows that already," Namine said, glancing at the Keyblade master, who nodded sheepishly. "And…things I draw in my book…well, _happen_, as long as it's within my limits."

Kairi nodded slightly. Namine seemed an awful lot more conversational than she was the last time they'd met.

"And now I'm going to do something I should've done a while ago…" she said, riffling through the pages of her sketchbook, her blue eyes flicking over the pages.

"What's that?" Sora asked, somewhat guardedly.

"I'm giving her back her memories."

Sora stared.

"Giving her…back?"

Namine looked levelly at Kairi, her face solemn.

"You don't remember any of your childhood, do you? You haven't had those memories, not since you met Sora."

Kairi blinked.

"It was you?"

"The Order knew, the instant you became the seventh and last of the Princesses of Heart, that wherever you ended up when Ansem sent you away from here would be the place the Keyblade would choose to appear. That…the first person you'd meet…would eventually become the Keyblade master."

Kairi glanced at Sora.

"It's a stigma of sorts, when you become one of these maidens—you're given a memory, a very special memory. Somewhere along the way, someone will have told you something that's very important. The reason it's so special is that when it's pieced together with everything you've found out since then…you'll finally find what's most sacred and most sought-out in all the worlds."

Sora met Kairi's eyes, and then glanced at Namine.

"The Order wanted to make sure that memory was permanently erased from your mind."

"And they made you do it," Sora said flatly, looking to the ground. "They're the reason Kairi couldn't remember who she was, or where she came from."

"Exactly. I was only five at the time. But…they channeled my ability. They figured it out, and they forced me to use it."

Namine looked down at the sketchpad, carefully holding it near herself so Sora and Kairi would not see the scrawling on it. She cautiously tore it out, ripping the page from the wire binding as neatly as she could. The page broke free, and she dropped the sketchpad onto the cobblestones. She crumpled the piece of paper with a ferocity Kairi had never seen in the quiet girl before, and thrust it toward the redhead.

Kairi cautiously took the crumpled ball, looking at it curiously, but then suddenly it wasn't there. Threads and fibers of the white page curled around her fingers and took flight in the slight wind, and before she could blink, disappeared completely.

"Long ago," a wonderfully familiar voice spoke out of distant memory into her mind. "People lived in peace, bathed in the warmth of light."

"I'm remembering…"

_Everyone loved the light. Then people began to fight over it. They wanted to keep it for themselves, and darkness was born in their hearts. The darkness spread, swallowing the light and many people's hearts. It covered everything, and the world disappeared. But small fragments of light survived...in the hearts of children. With these fragments of light, children rebuilt the lost world. It's the world we live in now. But the true light sleeps, deep within the darkness. That's why the worlds are still scattered, divided from each other. But someday, a door to the innermost darkness will open. And the true light will return. So, listen, child. Even in the deepest darkness, there will always be a light to guide you. Believe in the light, and the darkness will never defeat you. Your heart will shine with its power and push the darkness away. Do you understand, Kairi?_

_No. I'm…not sure I understand. But I'll try._

Kairi looked up at Namine, who nodded slightly. Sora shifted where he stood.

"You remember now?"

"Yes, I remember…my grandmother's story."

But the true light sleeps, deep within the darkness. That's why the worlds are still scattered, divided from each other.

Sora looked cautiously over his shoulder, watching for any signs of movement near the castle gates.

"I guess I'll figure it out when it's important," Kairi murmured, the voice still echoing through her mind.

"Yes…just…keep it in mind. It'll make sense eventually," Namine replied quietly.

……………………………

"They've been gone for how long?"

"Four days, sir."

Demyx stood before the second-in-command, his gloved hands clasped behind his back and his hood up, only his pale lips visible in the shadows. Several other figures stood in black coats around the room: Xaldin, Xigbar, and Luxord.

Saix had his back to the youngest, his arms folded and eyes closed. He tensed and looked up, his heavily scarred face slowly contorting into a glare. He threw his arms to his sides and wheeled about, taking Demyx by the collar.

"How? How did they escape?"

Demyx's hood fell off, but he stared levelly into Saix's stern eyes.

"We have a traitor within the Order. And you'd do well to keep your hands off me if you don't want another."

Saix released his grip on the other, his eyes narrowing.

"Who?"

"The silver-haired one. The one without a name and rank."

Saix stared.

"The…complete one."

He strode away from the other, across the bloodstained carpet on the balcony of the darkened library. Just where such bloodshed had come from, Saix didn't know.

"Meddlesome king…"

A sudden crash from below made the two men turn, startled. Demyx turned, leaning over the edge of the balcony. Two shadowed figures entered the twilit library, noises of an evident struggle wafting up in the stuffy air.

"Let GO of me!"

"Shut up, kid."

"Get your hands off me, I said!"

Saix watched calmly as flaming red hair became evident in the dim moonlight illuminating the staircase to the upper balcony. The figure was dragging a shorter person, who was putting up a terrific fight as he was pulled along.

Axel suddenly looked up, flashing his sardonic grin. His pale face looked even thinner in the dim light.

He shoved the other figure onto the balcony, and he sprawled on his hands and knees. He stood up, painfully slowly, snapping his head up toward the silver-haired man with a grimace contorting his features. His lips were set in a firm line, and he looked up at Saix through narrowed eyes, his fists clenching.

"Ah," Saix said mildly, taking a few slow steps toward the tense young man and standing over him. "A trespasser."

"I'm not a trespasser," the boy said through gritted teeth, staring at the boots of the strange man in the black coat, still bent over slightly with his fists clenched.

Saix grinned, amused.

"What, pray tell, are you, then?"

"I want to…" he began, swallowing hard. "I…I want to…"

"I do not especially care what you want, brat," Saix insinuated, leering closer over the boy. "I want your name. I want to know who you are and how you came to this place."

"M-my name is Roxas. I…came here…"

"Roxas."

He looked up, finally meeting the elder's eyes. His blazed a piercing blue; Saix's an unpleasant bronze-gold. His lower lip was protruding slightly, looking stubbornly and fearlessly into the depths of Saix's eyes.

"Another shell. Another…mere shell."

"Shut up."

"So you admit to it."

"I didn't admit to anything."

Roxas stood up straight, his fists still clenched at his sides. His blonde hair hung low over his eyes, the turned-up collar of his white jacket casting odd distorted shadows across his face.

"I'm…"

"You are a shell, brat. A mere shell. Nothing more."

"I…I'm a Keyblade master."

He crossed his arms in front of his upper torso, and two Keyblades slowly curved into existence inside his grasp, criss-crossed before his face. One: a black-as-night, Gothic-looking black blade with an ebony crown hanging from its chain; the other: a white, dual-sided blade with a sharp snowflake-shaped end, with a charm of thalassa shells hanging strung into a star-shape off the chain. Their hilts painted shadows over his face in a perfect cross-shape as he stared up sternly at Saix, his lip curling into a slight smirk.

Saix stared. Suddenly he grinned devilishly.

"I see."

Roxas shut his eyes and lowered the Keyblades. They disappeared from his grasp as his brow furrowed slightly in concentration.

"The Keyblade master…Sora…has a shell."

"Stop CALLING me that!"

"Very well. What is it you want?"

"I want to join you."

Demyx snorted, and Axel gave him a quick slap on the back of the head, causing the other to swear out loud.

"Join? The Thirteenth Order?"

Saix wore a hard-to-read expression; the conniving grin was still in place.

"Isn't he the one we've been looking for?" Axel suddenly said, his eyes gleaming unpleasantly. "The thirteenth member."

"It's not that simple, you nitwit," Luxord said smoothly. "One cannot simply…join the Order. These things take time."

"I dunno," Xigbar said quietly from the shadows, looking up with a grin. "You got real friendly toward Larxene and Marluxia the second they showed interest."

Saix hissed a sharp intake of breath.

"We do not speak of the traitors. Ever. Do you hear me?" he said dangerously and quietly.

Axel grinned.

"Well, come then," Saix said, in as close to a conversational tone as possible. "We are prepared to take you on. You are…one of us."

Roxas bent into a stiff bow.

"Roxas. Rank number thirteen of the Organization."

Roxas stared at his sneakers, the cuffs on his fingers sliding off in his limp bowing position. He clenched his fist.

"But, you came here alone?"

"Yes, alone."

Saix turned and snapped his fingers quickly.

"Are you quite sure?"

Roxas suddenly sensed another presence in the room—it was close, he could feel it. The Keyblades materialized unknowingly in his grasp as he bent low, eyes panning the abandoned library of Hollow Bastion.

Suddenly he saw it.

Sitting on the top of one of the great tall bookcases. A black-clad figure, in the shadows. He saw it stir, and get to its feet.

The figure walked lazily along the tops of the bookcases, chest out, arms held back and apart from his torso, coming down on his left foot harder than his right. A confident walk. A swagger.

Nimbly as a fox, he leapt over a gap between the bookcases, landing gracefully on both feet atop the one adjacent to the balcony railing.

Roxas squinted slightly. The figure had the same black coat as the Order, and his hood was down. Feathery silver hair fell to his shoulders, though he appeared quite young—probably not much older than Roxas himself. The oddest part about him, though, was that he appeared to be wearing a thick black blindfold across his eyes. Only the tip of his nose and his pale, grinning lips could be seen.

Riku came to the balcony, leaning casually on the railing with one elbow, lifting one corner of the blindfold until a light aquamarine-colored eye appeared beneath it. The pupil quickly dilated to adjust in the pressing darkness, as if he had been able to see much more clearly with the black cloth over his eyes.

"Hey, kiddos. Miss me?"

…………………………

Woot! Ha, that was a really fun chapter to write. We're finally building to the big climax! Now I'm not sure about this, but it may even hit the 20-chapter mark. Don't worry, this isn't going to become an epic. It's getting there.

Don't fret, Roxas' personality isn't as rough and tough as I made him out to be in this chapter. He had to act that way to gain entrance to the Order. Please don't judge him too harshly, he's still a whole lot like Sora.

Your reviews are wonderful! I'll try to respond personally to each one this time. Please leave more! They make my day every time I get one.


	16. Rendezvous

_Per_: Roxas, would you stop angsting and come over here?  
_Roxas_: -shuffles over-  
_Riku_: Dude, Per, you took too long to update again.  
_Per_: It was the attack of the dreaded writer's block! I'm sorry!  
_Kairi_: You could've asked us for help!  
_Namine_: Yeah, I had some ideas!  
_Sora_: But it was you guys she was having the trouble with.  
_Namine_: Was not!  
_Sora_: Was too.  
_Per_: Gah, I'm sorry! I'll try not to do it again. Anyway, I have to finish the fic before March 28th.  
_Kairi_: Why's that?  
_Riku_: Our game's being released. FINALLY.  
_Sora_: Why do you have to finish before it comes out?  
_Per_: Because. I don't want to lose my storyline once I find out what really happens.  
_Roxas_: …but you already…  
_Per_: SHHH!

Okay, that being said. Hi, everybody! Sorry it took so amazingly long for me to update, once again. Ask Ariana Aislinn and any of my other fanfiction buddies: I've been agonizing over this chapter and the rest of the plotline for almost two solid months. Now it's finally all falling into place, and this chapter is ready for posting.

READ THIS! THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER!

I am anti-spoiler. Therefore, nothing in my story is based off of actual events in Kingdom Hearts 2. If I happen to have a plot point that coincidentally ends up also being true in the game, it was a COMPLETE ACCIDENT. (There's one in particular that quite a few of you have mentioned already—but I set it up in a chapter published way before December. I'm sorry, I didn't know I was actually right!). I do not claim to be psychic, nor am I lying when I say I know nothing of the actual plot events of KH2. So if you find when playing the game that something that happened in my story is in fact true, please just take it as a pleasant surprise that, hey…Per knows the story and characters way too well for her own good.

With that…enjoy the much labored-over and yes, cliffie-tastic, Chapter Sixteen.

Edit: February 27, 2006, 4:23 PM EST

Got a review that made me rethink some stuff, and rewrote some slight parts of the chapter. If it looks different to those who reviewed before this update, well, now you know why. Thanks!

……………….

Chapter Sixteen: Rendezvous

"Namine! Come on!"

The blonde stood at the lip of the lift stop, eyeing the platform warily.

"Are you sure this thing is safe?"

"Sure!" Kairi said, kicking one rail with the toe of her boot to prove its stability, and she immediately yelped in pain. She grabbed at it, wincing and hopping about on one foot.

Sora stifled a laugh. "Safe—for anyone but Kairi."

She stuck his tongue out at him, and he dodged a wild swipe she made at him with one gloved hand as she half-hopped, half-limped toward the nearby handrail.

Namine clutched her sketchbook close to her chest, biting her lip as she peered over the edge of the tower. One might have thought she was readying herself to bungee-jump off the edge.

"C'mon, Namine, just don't look down!" Sora said, holding a hand out to her and grasping the arch for stability.

Cautiously, Namine took his hand, and he pulled her quickly across the small gap. She wasn't anticipating it.

"ThankseeEEEP!"

Her thanks were cut short as she shrieked and stumbled onto the platform. Sora caught her by the shoulders and steadied her. She stood stock-still for a moment, wide-eyed.

She'd used her sketchbook to create a momentary distraction for the Order, and they had retreated from the Castle Gates for the time being. She wasn't sure how good their vigilance was, however. Better for them to get where they needed to go as soon as possible. Plus, if he was here, as according to plan, they definitely couldn't afford to be spotted…

Kairi reached out to touch the crystal. It sparked, and after a brief lull, the lift started down with a lurch. Namine squealed behind pursed lips and grabbed Kairi's arm in a death-grip. Sora paced the edge of the platform, his Keyblade along the back of his shoulders, looking very much the swordsman as his face turned grim.

Slowly, the twilit sky darkened and disappeared completely as the three teenagers were plunged into pitch darkness. The lift was still moving, rumbling beneath their feet, but sensory deprivation took over and Namine clutched Kairi's arm still tighter. Her fingers tingled, going numb from the firm grip around her thin wrist.

Finally, a faint grey glow from beneath them alerted them to their arrival in the bowels of the castle. The lift clattered to a stop on a thick, smooth sheet of ice, still vibrating slightly under the soles of their shoes. The waterway towered before them; a tall and imposing chamber of copper, stone and ice. Sora's sneakers squeaked slightly as he stepped onto the ice with one foot, holding onto the lift and checking its thickness.

He turned and flashed the thumbs-up at the two girls, and leapt down from the lift onto the icy floor.

Namine let go of Kairi's arm, and both of them stepped lightly down, following him and carefully treading the smooth, solid sewer water.

"Sora," Kairi said quietly, her voice still reverberating in the stillness. "What makes you think they're down here? Leon and Aerith and everybody?"

Sora stopped near a large, floating sphere, crossing his arms. He turned to Kairi, the look on his face somewhat sheepish.

"I got another transmission on the way back to the Islands," he told her, his clear blue eyes somewhat troubled.

"Another transmission? What about?" Kairi asked, but Sora had already stepped right into the sphere, beckoning for the two girls to follow. She stepped timidly toward it, tapping the edge of it gingerly with her fingers and finding it gave in to her touch. Looking blankly at Namine, she jumped into it, feeling a brief shock of cold through her entire body as she broke through the surface. She landed inside, her feet slipping unsteadily on the curved floor. She looked bemusedly at Sora as Namine entered as well.

Kairi cried out silently as the bubble lurched downward and broke right through the solid wall of ice beneath their feet. Namine was mouthing something, but within the sphere, there was only ringing silence.

Finally, Sora pushed against the wall of the bubble and broke free, and the three of them stumbled out into a different section of the sewers. It was warmer here; the cavern was suffused with a dark, greenish light. Water gurgled in the distance, and the air was damp and smelled strongly of mildew.

"Sora!" Kairi said almost sternly as he made towards the nearest exit, his sneakers sloshing through the murky water. "You didn't answer my question!"

Sora stopped, rubbing the back of his neck rather uncomfortably. She waded through the ankle-deep water towards him, frowning slightly at the back of his brunette head.

He said nothing for a moment. Comprehension dawned on her face, and suddenly felt her stomach drop, and her throat constricted slightly.

"Sora…" she asked hoarsely. "Did…something happen I don't know about?"

He coughed slightly, bringing his gloved fist to his mouth, still facing away from her. With great effort he glanced at her, meeting her eyes steadily.

"I, um…yeah."

"What?" she asked, her voice rising in pitch and beginning to sound somewhat desperate. "Sora, what?"

She grasped folds of his sweatjacket near his shoulders, clutching at him, shaking him slightly and pleading with his silence.

His gaze held hers, his lips pressed together and a hard look on his face. Only his eyes betrayed the guilt he felt for keeping silent. She felt her hands beginning to tremble slightly, one still held gently in Sora's grasp. He was…the Keyblade master. What could possibly be so bad that he was afraid to even tell her, his best friend? Namine stood silently, eyes to the floor.

A sudden scuffle made all three jump, and shadows moved along the wall in a splash of dim light they hadn't noticed before. It appeared to be coming from a partially closed wooden door, a good ways down the dungeon corridor.

Sora, Kairi, and Namine took off without a word, hurrying down the hallway. Dirty water sprayed every which way, stagnant between the flagstones that made up the floor.

As they neared the source of the light, Sora suddenly stopped, spreading his arms so Kairi and Namine both crashed into them and stopped dead. A splash echoed through the cavern as Namine dropped her sketchbook onto the damp flagstones. She let out a small sound of frustration and bent to pick it up, relieved the water had sprayed only on the leather cover and had not soaked into the pages.

Kairi looked questioningly at Sora, who glanced at her and put a finger to his lips. She understood suddenly—how did they know this wasn't a trap?

In the ringing silence, they became aware of soft voices coming out the door a few yards ahead.

"What was that?"

"Calm down, it's probably just a rat."

"A damn big one, if it's that. Get off your ass and check!"

"Scared of a little mouse, Cid?"

Sora grinned at Kairi and they ran onward, not bothering to mask their echoing footsteps in the cavernous hallway.

"Guys?" he called.

The three teenagers crashed into the cell, the door swinging on rusty hinges and hitting the wall with a dull thud.

Leon let out a yell and stood up, the old wooden chair he'd been sitting on skidding away behind him and capsizing onto the mossy flagstones. Yuffie, sitting atop a stack of crates beside him, gave a start and her hand flew to her chest, startled out of her wits. Sora noticed almost immediately how puffy and red her eyes had become. As Kairi and Namine stumbled in behind Sora, they saw Cid in the far corner beside the door, sitting against the wall with his spear held loosely in one hand.

"Sora…you made it," Leon said, his voice a bit raspy and hoarse.

Kairi smiled brightly, pelting at Leon and wrapping him in a bear hug. He hesitated for a split second, not anticipating the sudden show of affection, but then awkwardly returned it. Namine stood in the doorway, looking a bit lost.

When Kairi finally let go of Leon, he looked up at Sora, his voice crisp and businesslike.

"Did you seal the Keyhole yet?"

Sora looked up regretfully at the swordsman.

"Er…no. I just wanted to find you guys first, I—I thought it was more important. You are my friends, after all," Sora said, his voice surprisingly steady.

Leon half-smiled, despite himself. "…Thanks, Sora," he said quietly, his voice betraying his emotion somewhat. "Speaking of friends…where are Donald and Goofy?"

"They're in the gummi ship. They can pick us up if we get into trouble," Kairi responded, sounding somewhat strangled and muffled as Yuffie crushed her in a bear hug.

Leon nodded shortly.

Kairi disentangled herself from Yuffie's smothering embrace, looking curiously from Leon to Sora.

"Where are Cloud and Aerith?"

Sora winced, turning his head away from Kairi to look at the far wall. Leon glanced at him, his arms crossed. Sora's gaze shifted slowly toward the swordsman, looking so apologetic Leon's frown softened.

Yuffie still hadn't spoken, which Kairi realized too late was very unusual, and the redhead turned toward her when the silence lasted a second too long.

"Yuffie," she said, the fear from a few moments ago in the sewer returning in full-force. "Yuffie…you're cry—"

Yuffie let her chin drop to her chest, her free hand coming to her forehead as Kairi found herself rendered speechless.

"They're missing, Kairi," Yuffie said quietly, her voice high-pitched and trembling as her indigo eyes looked back up.

She could sense Sora's posture sag slightly, his gloved hand coming to his brow. Leon and Cid were still as statues, deliberately looking away.

"So that means…"

"We had to run, we're not sure what happened," Leon said in a monotone.

"But we found blood, and…and…" Yuffie began, rubbing frustratedly at her tears. "And Cloud didn't look like he was in the best of shape just before we--"

"I might be able to help with that."

Everyone except Kairi turned suddenly to Namine, who had been largely invisible until now. Leon stood up from the wall.

The slight girl had her sketchbook hugged to her chest, looking solemnly from Yuffie to Cid to Leon. Kairi finally stood up straight, emotions warring in her stunned mind: she wasn't sure whether or not to be indignant at how quickly this conversation had changed tracks. How could they have dropped the subject so lightly?

"Who are you, miss?" Cid asked the blonde girl gruffly from the corner.

"My name is Namine," she responded with quiet confidence. "I…may know something of what you're talking about. I know a…a little bit about the Organization…"

She riffled through her sketchbook with her pale hand, and Leon slowly made towards her, looking over her shoulder.

Yuffie left Kairi's side to join Leon as Cid pushed himself up from the floor, and the redhead was left alone near the corner. The others were conversing now, but the sound was just noise in Kairi's ears: she heard no distinct words, just a sensory distraction from the utter shock still holding her.

First Riku, and now this? Was everyone close to her slowly disappearing?

She closed her eyes and hurriedly wiped away a frustrated tear that had slid down her cheek, until she suddenly became aware of warmth very near her front. She sniffled and looked up, seeing Sora standing near her, leaning against the crates and looking concernedly at her. He used one knuckle of his gloved hand to brush away the tearstain she had missed.

The gesture of tenderness undid her completely, and as she leaned forward, he caught her in a tight embrace.

She sniffled silently into the front of his jacket, her left cheek pressed against his chest, slowly calming down in his grasp.

As Kairi calmed, she felt overly aware of every slight movement he made. One hand shifted slightly, splayed across her back, and she nearly jumped with the sudden sensation. His breathing against her shoulder as he held her comfortingly was suddenly like a caress.

What…is this?

Sora turned his head slightly to glance at Kairi's face, largely hidden, as she had effectively buried it into his shirt. He felt as if they were fourteen again—the first time he'd actually gotten up enough courage and reason to go so far as to put his arms around her. The novelty was returning, for some odd reason, and it just seemed…right, as it had then.

He felt like a little kid, unable to stop himself from staring at Kairi's closed eyes. He watched her, fascinated, an odd feeling sweeping over him.

They were brought rudely back to reality as Leon slammed one fist into the wall, muttering, "Those bastards."

………………………

"You all right, kid?"

Roxas looked up from his spot, sitting in the window-well. A tall, thin figure was silhouetted in the dim candlelight, leaning against the doorframe.

"Fine."

"Eesh. I'm just checking up on our…" the voice snickered softly. "…newest member. We don't have to be so rude."

"I'm not a little kid, Axel."

Axel smirked and strode into the room, kicking at one of the posts that made up a canopy bed against the southern wall. His spiked hair was a shock of red in the twilit chamber, his pale grinning face eerily shadowed.

Roxas stared blindly out the window for a moment, willing the older man to leave. When he didn't, he shut his eyes.

"What do you want, anyway?"

Axel leaned against the four-poster, crossing his arms and grinning. "I'm here to fill you in on your duties as part of the Order."

"Do it, then."

Axel watched the boy closely. The teenager avoided his eyes, staring ahead determinedly at apparently nothing, his brow furrowed. After a few seconds, his lower lip trembled and the frown lessened ever so slightly. Axel grinned halfway.

"You think you're tough, don't you? Showing up in the sewers, sneaking into the castle and getting caught…only to be welcomed with open arms into the resistance."

Roxas grimaced.

"You're not very good at it, kid."

The blonde looked up at Axel through his bangs, his eyes narrowing.

"I know you're not like them. Like me," Axel said quietly; the sarcasm had vanished. Roxas eyed him warily.

"Listen, kid. I'm not sure what your intentions are, but I want to help you with whatever it is you're doing. I'm sick of it—being a Nobody, like you. If you can help me with that, I'm behind you."

Roxas couldn't control himself. His jaw dropped slightly, and he stared Axel straight in the eye. There was no laughter in them whatsoever; his expression was completely serious.

Roxas shook his head to clear it suddenly, saying almost dazedly, "…what was it you came to tell me?"

Axel was silent for a moment, seeming to slowly abandon the thought he had been trying to express to the teenager. The gleam in his eye slowly returned.

"We need you to fetch someone for us…someone we need alive."

Roxas sighed inwardly. This was what DiZ had been referring to, wasn't it?

"We need the seventh Princess of Heart: Kairi. A companion of the Keyblade master."

Roxas stood up, smoothing the leather of his black coat. It was still rather stiff, and he wasn't sure he liked the smell.

"And what…I'm supposed to do this alone?" he asked, somewhat resignedly.

"No. You'll have backup on this one," Axel responded almost immediately. "Someone who has a bit of…inside information on the matter."

A sudden shadow flickered in the candlelight on the wall of the adjacent corridor, and Roxas became aware of heavy steps approaching; he hadn't heard them until now. Another figure suddenly obstructed the doorway and came into the dim moonlight illuminating the room.

He was hurriedly tying a blindfold about his head, pulling his long feathered silver hair out of its way. He looked up once it was secure and grinned in Roxas' direction.

He wears the darkness…?

Axel eyed Riku out of the corner of his eye, crossing his arms.

"Get to know each other, because this isn't going to be easy. You've got the Keyblade master to deal with. Rumor has it, he'd die for this girl."

Riku nodded briefly.

"Well, that sounds like a stupid idea," Roxas interjected, putting his hands on his hips. "We should get her alone."

Riku snorted. "Yeah, sure. Sora hasn't left Kairi alone once since he found her. If we do it your way, you're going to have to go at it on your own…and leave me to distract Sora."

Axel raised an eyebrow at Roxas.

"And you'd take the Princess on? Weapons out, no holds barred?"

Riku let out a quiet, strangled sort of grunt, but quickly cleared his throat. He wasn't sure the others had heard him.

"No…I think…I'll need her to come quietly, if we're going to pull this off."

Riku said nothing. Axel smiled devilishly.

"Work your charm on her, eh? Shouldn't be too hard. He looks just like you."

Roxas stiffened. Riku clicked his tongue.

"I think…me being a Keyblade master could work to our advantage."

Axel grinned, his face brightening slightly. "Exactly. No matter what world, no one will question your motives once they see that blade. The rest…is child's play."

Riku unfolded his arms, tapping his black boot impatiently.

"Then it's settled. Are you coming, or what?"

He extended a gloved hand to the younger teenager, the corner of his lips tilting into a smirk. Roxas felt slightly unnerved, not being able to meet the eyes of his new partner. Tentatively, he reached out and took the other teenager's hand, and the other gave him a firm handshake before releasing it.

"Riku."

"…Roxas."

"Let's go."

Roxas nodded shortly, and Riku turned and strode out the door into the corridor, putting up his hood as he went.

As Roxas made to follow, Axel stopped him, his gloved hand grasping his upper arm in a painfully tight grip.

"Remember what I said, kid. Just say the word," he breathed near his ear in a hissing whisper. He pushed him away.

Roxas stopped for a moment, his hand on the doorframe, glancing furtively over his shoulder at the redhead, who was now staring out the window with his hands clasped behind his back. With a great effort, he broke away and followed Riku down the darkened corridor.

………………….

Well, yes, that's it for now. The scene with Roxas originally started the chapter off, but I decided to switch it to keep it in chronological order.

I love reviews! I'll try to respond to each individually this time. Thank you to my veteran readers, and welcome to my new reviewers! You rock!


	17. Whatever Lies Beyond this Morning

Finally! Chapter Seventeen is here. I've been working at this since 6:00 this evening (it's now 10:00) and I think it passes, at best. Hopefully the end of this chapter makes up for the mediocre-ness of the rest. No! Don't read ahead! Bad reader. You must enjoy the fluff at the proper time—oh, fiddlesticks.

I'm determined to finish this story by Tuesday or Wednesday if it kills me. Otherwise, my plotline will get skewed because I'll be playing Kingdom Hearts II and loving every minute of it. I'll forget my ending and everything. So, basically, I can't let that happen. Prepare for a chapter a day, at the least. And if you didn't know already, you can get the sequel to the most awesome game of all time on March 28th. If you haven't preordered yet, do it now! Now! I'm watching you!

No little script thing…just get on with the fluff—I mean, chapter!

**EDITED ON JANUARY 13, 2007**

_------------_

Chapter Seventeen: Whatever Lies Beyond This Morning

"_If you don't mind me asking, sir," Axel remarked. "Why were you so eager to trust the newcomer?"_

"_Simple. No one would dare impede the Keyblade master. He will be free to roam the worlds without question."_

_Axel smirked. "The Keyblade master? You mean…a Keyblade master. It's no longer such a singular term. They've been appearing all over the worlds."_

_Saix said nothing._

"_Why are we still so interested in this kid? Sora?" Axel insinuated, leaning over Saix's shoulder. "We've got a Keyblade under our control already—two, come to think of it. The new kid's a dual-wielder."_

"_It is not the blade itself, but rather who wields it," Saix said slowly, crossing his arms and sitting back in the old oak chair. "Once we are rid of this Keyblade master—the one the prophecies foretold—the blade will pass to its next keeper."_

"_And?" Axel asked, rolling his eyes._

"_You have heard that the Keyblade masters have not always been keepers of the peace, have you not? Some wreak terrible destruction upon the universe. For it matters not whether they be creatures of the light or of the deepest darkness: as long as their heart, their true self, is strong enough to overshadow any other it may encounter…the blade remains in their possession. So long as this person is under our control—problem solved."_

"_The kid's dangerous," Axel protested, a gleam in his eye. "He took out every agent in Castle Oblivion without so much as a scratch. He may have lost his innocence—but his light still burns strong. You want to take on someone who wasted Marluxia?"_

"_You have heard the prophecies," Saix snapped. "If we destroy this…Sora, if we're going to call him that…they will cease to exist."_

"_Prophecies, schmophecies…what has this to do with us?" Axel asked smoothly._

"_Everything, you nitwit," Saix said, glaring at the redhead, who smirked back. "The Princesses will open Kingdom Hearts again, and we become complete beings. But if this boy is running amok, the one fated to open the door to the light, it will be quite easy to put an end to all of us."_

_Axel said nothing._

"_The Door to the Light—its opening will put an end to all creatures of darkness. We must not risk that happening."_

"_Of course we mustn't," Axel said, mocking the elder's stuffy dialect. Saix gave a derisive laugh._

"_The Princess is below. Go to it."_

"_Yes, sir," Axel said, turning on his heel and walking into the lift stop. "I know…just the pair to ask."_

"_I am putting the utmost faith in you, Axel," Saix said to his retreating form. "I am relocating the Order to the base in Twilight Town. If you have not crossed that threshold in forty-eight hours…there will be consequences."_

"_I understand," Axel said, stopping for a moment. "It's a date, then."_

_He smirked over his shoulder. Saix eyed him as the redhead disappeared into the darkness. He leaned over the dilapidated radio on the desk._

"_We're leaving," he said, with a note of finality in his voice. The remaining members around him nodded. As they filed silently down the stairs, Luxord stopped._

"_What is it?" Saix snapped, turning. _

"_This bloodstain…" he said, kneeling and tracing his finger over the blood on the floor of the balcony. "It smells uncannily like wine."_

_He stood up and followed._

_--------_

"I can't believe we're going up there again," Yuffie griped as everyone trudged across the ice of the waterway.

Leon rolled his eyes. "You've been up there once already. And now we've got safety in numbers. Will you stop complaining?"

Yuffie grumbled something inaudible.

"Whatever you say, Squall," she mumbled louder.

"Leon," he corrected wearily.

"Say, uh, Namine," Cid began uncertainly. "You're sure those hooded freaks are gone?"

"Quite sure," Namine replied politely, treading across the ice with careful steps in her white sandals. "I'm one of them, in a twisted sense—I know more about their plans than I think even they do. And my sketchpad hasn't failed me yet."

Cid clicked his tongue, looking more than a bit worried as he nodded uncertainly.

"So the Grand Hall is in bad shape, huh?" Sora asked uncomfortably as he, Kairi, Namine, Leon, Yuffie, and Cid clambered onto the lift. "The Keyhole is open again?"

"In a sense, yeah, it's exposed," Leon replied, leaning heavily against the handrail and running a hand through his dark bangs as the lift lumbered upward. "Kairi was able to give it some relative protection last time we went up, but I'm not sure how long it'll hold."

Namine grabbed Kairi's arm again, whimpering as the lift stuttered in its trip. The redhead laughed, patting the other girl's clenched fist comfortingly.

The blonde frowned as they emerged into the chilly night air. It was about four in the morning, and the sun would probably be rising before the next hour was up.

"Namine? What's wrong?" Kairi asked as the blonde loosened her hold on her thin wrist.

"I…think one of them might still be here," she said softly, closing her eyes so she could concentrate on the odd feeling in her heart.

"Just one?" Sora asked somewhat apprehensively.

Namine opened her eyes. "Yes, one. If we hurry, we probably won't run into him."

The party came off the lift stop, all five hastily turning the corner and rushing toward the open castle doors. Once inside, Leon and Cid swung the great doors shut, grunting with the effort. The swordsman used the tip of his gunblade to swipe a mechanism into place some three feet above his head, and the doors were magically barred.

"Let's head for the library," Leon said finally, wiping beads of sweat from his brow. "We can strategize from there."

"This better be the last time we do this," Kairi said, getting a sudden chill. "I don't like that hall."

No one spoke until they were all safely inside, taking various spots around the balcony. Kairi noticed a blackened stain in the carpet near one of the bookcases, praying it wasn't what she thought it was.

"Cid managed to rig the lifts so that the one through here--" Leon began, pointing down the hallway on the back wall. "—will take us directly to the tower nearest the castle chapel, instead of us having to take the long way up. We'd have to shut down the electric in the rest of the castle to get us up there one way. But it'll save us some precious time, I think…and once the Keyhole is sealed, getting back down here on foot shouldn't be too much of a problem."

Sora nodded, crossing his arms. "So…should we go now?"

Suddenly the door to the entrance hall swung open at the far end of the balcony, two figures stumbling out into an ungraceful heap on the floor.

"Sorry, Sora," Goofy said, splayed on the floor and pinned under Donald's small form. "Donald got tired of waitin'."

"What's the big idea?" the duck squawked, getting up. "We've been flying around the castle for hours! We thought you were dead or some--"

He gaped as he saw the bizarre group in front of him.

"Oh," he said meekly. "I guess you're all right."

"Thanks, guys," Sora said, grinning. "In that case…want to head up to the Grand Hall with us? We've got a Keyhole to seal."

Goofy stood up in a hurry, snapping to a salute, holding his shield in front of him. Donald stepped around him, rolling his eyes.

"Let's go, fellas!" he said with finality, marching straight into the lift stop and disappearing, his webbed feet flapping against the floor and echoing into the library.

Leon gave a rare smile, more out of amusement than happiness, and unconsciously held out a hand to Yuffie, who was seated on the floor. She looked up at his outstretched arm with a look of mild shock, and he helped her to her feet. She brushed herself off uncomfortably, picking up her giant shuriken and swinging it over her shoulder.

"Kids," Cid said gruffly, picking the piece of straw he had in his teeth out and flicking it away, following the duck.

_------------------_

"Would you slow down?" Roxas puffed, stumbling onto the interior lift stop after Riku, just in time before it sputtered to life. "Do you have a train to catch or something?"

"No. I'm just faster than you are," Riku said nonchalantly, looking up into the stained glass ceiling many stories above.

As he leaned over with his hands on his knees to catch his breath, Roxas wondered how on earth the other boy was supposed to even be able to see where he was going. The blindfold was still as secure as ever.

"What are you looking at?"

"That dome. It looks damaged. I can't see it clearly enough to tell, though."

Riku pushed his silver bangs back from his forehead, standing on slight tiptoe and holding onto one of the railings that made up the wall of the lift. He craned his neck, his face to the heavens.

Roxas frowned slightly, standing up straight and crossing his arms.

"Y'know, it might help if you…oh, I don't know. Take the _blindfold_ off?" he suggested sarcastically.

"Nah," Riku replied amiably, putting both hands behind his head and strolling to the center of the platform lazily, his face still looking upward. "I can see much clearer with it on."

His chin tilted down, and he stared Roxas straight in the eye. Rather, Roxas thought he could _sense_ the other boy's eyes looking at him, hidden under the black cloth.

"You really going along with them?" he asked, a slight smile evident. It wasn't a grin or a smirk this time.

Roxas considered. "…no. You?"

"Nah," Riku replied darkly, his hands falling back down to his sides. "Glad we understand each other."

The lift suddenly stopped with a lurch, and both boys lost balance, reaching out to grab the handrails.

"What the--?" Riku muttered.

The glow of the electric wiring powering the lift slowly died out, leaving them in almost total darkness. The only light came from the broken window high above, casting a grey pallor in the chamber.

"The electric's out," Roxas mumbled, leaning over the edge of the lift. "We're stuck, for now."

"Great," Riku said, throwing up his hands and dropping to a sitting position on the floor. "Just great."

_------------_

"That was almost a bit too easy," Kairi said as the party trudged out of the Grand Hall. "Um, Sora, remind me to thank Peter Pan for teaching you to fly if I ever meet him?"

"Will do," Sora said, stretching his arms and resting both hands behind his neck, grinning.

"Kinda sad how we can be on the verge of takeover one second, and bam! Keyblade master glides over the Grand Hall and seals the Keyhole in fifteen seconds flat," Cid quipped.

"I don't care how sad it is. It's done. And I'm starving!" Yuffie said, rushing out into the chilly air, the sunrise imminent. "C'mon Squall, let's get something to eat!"

"That's Leon," he said. "And we should check on Namine first, before we do anything."

Yuffie, Leon, Cid, Donald, Goofy, and Sora traipsed across the top of the Grand Hall. Leon and Yuffie were already bickering as they disappeared into the castle.

Kairi hesitated near the edge of the crest, eyeing the four-foot drop to the next walkway warily. It had been easy for the two men and the ninja to manage, but she was still smaller than them, and still quite afraid of heights. She backed away slightly, accidentally bumping into Sora, who caught her by the shoulders to steady her.

"Thanks," she said, smiling, trying her hardest not to look down. "Er…is there any other way down?"

"Um…no, sorry," he said. And he truly sounded like he was. "C'mon, I'll help you down."

The slightest tinge of red was near the horizon, the pre-dawn. They came to the edge of the crest and suddenly Sora paused, brushing the bangs back from his forehead.

"Whoa," he remarked quietly.

The Bastion sky was glowing in the before-dawn light, the sheen of the mountaintops gleaming so the landscape seemed to be spotted with gold. A distant sea beyond the mountain plains lapped quietly, many shades of red and pink before the sunrise. The silver-grey mountains and the trees were spread out before them, tinged a light orange.

Kairi glanced at Sora, whose sapphire eyes seemed to have lost all age, and he looked like a child again, his expression awed.

"I never knew there was a sea here," he said in wonder.

They both gazed like children at the sun, which was partly above the horizon now. It seemed that the sunrise knew the two teenager's thoughts, and was putting on its best show just for them. There they stood, transfixed, their hands limply at their sides, the only sound being their soft breathing and the distant crashing of the ocean waves.

It wasn't as if they'd never seen a sunrise before. They'd done it countless times, years ago when they used to camp out on the Islands during the summer, all the kids together. They'd light tiki lanterns to illuminate the ocean at the earliest hours of the morning, swimming and playing and dueling until they all fell asleep on the sand out of pure exhaustion. Sora would often fall asleep right in the smallest of the waves, where they lapped up onto shore, the surf putting him gently to sleep. The morning's first rays would wake them up.

But now, it was almost as if both knew they had taken the island for granted, all those years before it was so violently torn away from them. And this sunrise was just like any other, but perhaps it seemed more beautiful than ever because it was the first they'd watched together in such a long while.

Sora was the first to break out of dreamlike reverie, and he stooped to sit near the edge. He sat back, his hands bracing him upright.

Kairi looked at him for a moment.

She had moments like this every so often; they would hit her suddenly and make her stop whatever she was doing to marvel. He was real, sitting in front of her watching the sunrise, when such a short time ago she felt stranded in her own home…trapped, unable to do anything but wait for him to come back like he'd promised. She brushed her bangs out of her eyes and sat down next to him.

"Pretty great, huh?" he asked, his eyes fixed on the beautiful display the ocean was putting on.

Kairi grinned and nodded, sitting forward and hugging her knees to her chest.

"Never thought I would end up back here so soon," he muttered.

Kairi looked at him.

"I mean, not…Hollow Bastion, but I mean…here—with you," he stammered, going slightly red.

"I can't believe it either," Kairi said quietly, inching a bit closer to him. "I was beginning to think you were never coming back."

She bit her lip as Sora looked at her, sitting up straighter.

"Kairi…I promised you I'd come back to you. I didn't care what happened to me, I still wasn't ever going to break that promise," he said, an unusually serious expression on his face. "Or this one, either."

He held up her lucky charm by its cord; it danced in the breeze. Kairi smiled at it, reaching out to touch the tip of one of the thalassa shells with one finger. Sora made as if to hand it to her.

"No," she said, waving it away. "I want you to have it…to keep. It's a present."

Sora's eyes widened as he looked at her, and he glanced at the charm, taking it in both hands as if it had become more fragile with her words. She saw his ears turn slightly red.

"Th—thanks, Kai."

He tucked it in his pocket again, almost reverently, closing the strap carefully. All was silent for a few long moments.

"What took you so long?" Kairi asked softly, not accusingly.

Sora sat up, looking a bit more alert. "Well, for one, we couldn't even _find _the Islands. We asked everyone. It's practically off the map because it's so small. And then there was that delay in Castle Oblivion…"

Kairi looked at him, recognizing the name.

"Riku said something about that place."

"Yeah. I was there for almost eight months, and all that time except for a day or two I was asleep," he said, grinning. "Namine was putting my memories back in order…and once that was done, I started looking for you and Riku. But, unfortunately, I ran into a few more worlds on the way that needed sealing--"

"And…then we lucked out, didn't we?" Kairi said cheerfully.

"Yeah. I probably would have never found my way back to the Islands if you hadn't shown up…me or Riku, really," he said slightly louder than they had previously been speaking; it was as if they felt they had to whisper in reverence of the beautiful morning.

He frowned.

"Scratch that. Riku probably would have found a way back. Good thing you found me, though."

She looked at him, laughing and shaking her head. "Well, you didn't expect me to waste my whole life just sitting at home waiting for you, did you? I wanted my Sora right back here where I could keep an eye on him," she said smartly, adopting a motherly tone.

He grinned and chuckled, blowing a stray tuft of hair from his eyes.

"Not that I _wouldn't_ have waited a lifetime if it meant having you back," she said quietly to herself, before too late realizing that Sora could hear her in the undisturbed silence. Her cheeks flushed pink, and she looked at her lap, her fingers curling up into fists as they rested on the smooth granite of the Crest.

Sora's expression softened as he turned to look at her in mingled surprise and relief. Kairi looked back to the sunrise, her face burning and her eyes shutting tightly. For a brief second, he saw in his mind's eye their drawing in the Secret Place—the one they'd both added so much significance to, without saying a word.

_She missed me that much? As…much as I missed her?_

Sora hesitated, inhaling sharply and a tinge of red crept up his own face. A slight chill ran up his spine as he contemplated her, sitting beside him and tensing in embarrassment.

"I--"

She blushed an even deeper shade of red, but Kairi looked up towards him. Nothing happened for a moment; Sora seemed to be frozen. Nothing else mattered for a few seconds. Neither moved.

_Does that mean…? Kairi likes me…she really likes me?_

Sora grinned widely as he realized he was right, and to Kairi's surprise, suddenly reclined backward until he was laying on the ground, his hands behind his head. He crossed his legs leisurely, an uncontrollable smile on his face.

Feeling more than a little foolish, Kairi stifled a laugh and smacked him lightly on the knee.

"Sora, you lazy bum!"

Sora lifted one hand and gave a mock salute, his eyes still closed with that silly grin on his lips. Kairi pushed his leg a little harder until the one he'd crossed slid off and landed back on the ground.

He opened one eye and cocked an eyebrow at her.

Kairi let out a peal of laughter. Sometimes he was just too much. She prodded him in the side a few times, laughing harder as he grunted in resistance. Finally he sat up swiftly, catching her bare wrist in retaliation with a skilled hand.

"Gotcha!"

Kairi giggled as Sora laughed in victory. He struggled for a moment and sat up on one arm, still holding her wrist gently. Their laughter slowly died away.

He hadn't noticed how close Kairi's face was to his. He was level with her gaze, seeing her grin subside slightly. He had let her hand go; she now had it splayed on the ground in the fraction of space between them.

Kairi had never experienced such an odd feeling in her life. Suddenly she could feel nothing—her body had gone numb, sitting beside him, her legs tucked beneath her as she sat on the cold marble. All that mattered was his eyes. He was smiling softly; she almost couldn't breathe.

Before Sora even knew what he was doing, he closed his eyes and felt himself lean toward her, and his lips brushed hers, almost clumsily.

He pulled away just a bit, her warmth still so close to him, stunned senseless by what he'd just done. He'd simply followed a whim, done what he'd wanted to do for so long, but never had the courage. But then he felt her hand come to rest lightly on his shoulder, and their lips met again.

A thrill tore through Kairi as she felt his warm, soft lips on hers. His brunette bangs brushed her forehead softly as her eyes slid slowly shut. The emotion, the feeling that was welling up inside her—it was impossible to describe.

Kairi felt Sora's hand come up to caress her cheek softly, cupping her face in its curve. A sigh escaped her; she loved the gentle way his fingers stroked her blushing skin.

Her hands slid around him and her fingers interlaced behind his neck, clinging to him as he kissed her gently, timid and shy despite everything his name as the Keyblade master made him out to be. She trembled, sheer emotion sweeping her up, making her lose control. His hand left her face, and she felt strong arms about her.

_Is this really happening…?_

Sora wasn't sure how it had happened, or how he'd worked up the nerve to do it—but now he found he didn't want to pull away. He couldn't. He pressed his lips to hers, loving how…_right_ she felt in his arms. Kairi meant everything in the world to him, after all. He…didn't ever want to lose her.

_Kairi…_

Kairi inhaled sharply as the warmth of Sora's lips slowly parted from hers—she wasn't sure she'd remembered to breathe, for however long they had been sitting there, near the edge of the crest. She wasn't sure, anymore. Her shining eyes opened a fraction, their faces so close his eyelashes were tickling her cheek softly. She saw the brilliance of his eyes suddenly appear from under his closed eyelids, and his gaze locked into hers.

_I want to be with him._

An odd tingling sensation was spreading through Sora's entire body; he felt the need to stay where he was now, to never let her go. Her thoughts seemed to mirror his, and his gloved hands kept a gentle hold around her slender frame. Her fingers were unknowingly grasping folds of his sweatjacket hood, holding him by the shoulders.

Sora stared into Kairi's impossibly blue eyes, his mind and heart racing.

_Is this what was there all along? This…this feeling?_

For a split second, both saw the other as they had that moment one year ago—when they had been torn apart by the world barriers. Desperately holding each other's hand for dear life, they'd experienced one fleeting second of this pure, intense emotion that they'd forgotten until now.

_You know what's funny? I looked everywhere for you, but you were with me all along. Finally, we're together, Kairi!_

Finally.

Sora smiled at Kairi. She returned it, quite sure that her expression was enough to make anyone laugh, with how dazed and euphoric she felt. But she knew he wouldn't care. Sora would never laugh at her.

Kairi's heart fluttered as he drew her closer, and she curled up into his side, closing her eyes and smiling contently as she felt him place a feather-light kiss on her forehead.

_So this is what it feels like…_

_------------_

Oh, I hope you enjoyed that fluff as much as I enjoyed writing it. –happy sigh- Yeah…random chapter, really. Reviews would be awesome. Critique, comment, praise, bash, do whatever you want. Just give me your thoughts! This is my first ever Sora/Kairi fluff scene and I really want to know what you guys thought.

PRESS THE SHINY REVIEW BUTTON PLEASE!


	18. The Princess and the Wielder

_Per_: Roxas.  
_Roxas_: …  
_Per_: Riku?  
_Riku_: …  
_Per_: Okay, are you guys giving me the silent treatment?  
-raises eyebrows-  
_Per_: Honestly, guys, hello?  
_Sora_: Oh, sorry, were you calling us?  
_Per_: Um, yeah!  
_Kairi_: I can't get Riku's attention…  
_Sora_: Try unplugging the controller.  
_Kairi_: But he's playing Kingdom Hearts II!  
_Per_: Yeah, and he's addicted. So is Roxas.  
_Sora_: Yeah, but so were you.  
_Per_: …so?  
_Kairi_: Bad authoress. Bad.  
_Per_: -cowers- Fine, fine…

Yes, I'm back. I've emerged from the proverbial cave. No, I did not keep my intent to finish the story two months ago—Kingdom Hearts II came out, I beat it four weeks ago, and have been working on this chapter since. Now…it's here! Yay!

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the REAL plotline is actually far different from mine, despite some major similarities. So fear not—the rest of the story plot is still in my head and is not ripped from Kingdom Hearts II or warped from playing it! I promise, if anything is similar, you'll find it was set up in my story way before KH2 ever came out. So I'm covered.

Meh, none of the characters are mine, this is my standard disclaimer. Enjoy! Plenty of fluff! Oh, and beginning segment takes place after Roxas' trip to Castle Oblivion a while back.

………………………………

Chapter 18: The Princess and the Wielder

"_Geez, what's the hurry?" Roxas asked nervously as Namine ran ahead of him, leading him hastily, her pale hand latched firmly about his wrist. "Couldn't I at least say goodbye to my friends?"_

"_There's no time, Roxas," she said breathlessly._

_Roxas shook his head, allowing the slight girl to pull him at a run through the back end of the tram common, eliciting an odd look from a store vendor taping up an advertisement. The blonde shrugged at him sheepishly as Namine ducked through a large, man-sized crack in the back wall of the town._

_They ran through the thick woods, helped along only by small pools of light filtering through the dense canopy of dark green leaves above them. Namine's pace started to lag, but she kept her hold on Roxas, walking quickly to a hollow at the other side where the trees thinned._

"_Oh no," he said, deliberately walking slower. "We're not trespassing in here, are we? They've got rules about this kind of thing."_

"_I've been here before," she told him breathlessly. "This is…the Organization's base."_

_Something clenched in Roxas' stomach and he swallowed hard. He'd been dreading this moment._

"_Hey, Namine," he said nervously as he stared up at the rapidly approaching mansion behind the woods. "Uh, are you sure this plan is going to work?"_

_She slowed to a stop near the iron gate, her hand still unconsciously gripping his wrist. She looked at him._

"…_we're counting on you, Roxas," she said, looking up at him through her lashes. "You're the only one who can do it."_

"_But if Sora and I are connected—practically brothers—I don't want to take away what's most important to him. I don't even know him!"_

_Namine sighed, gently taking Roxas' hand instead of his wrist._

"_Sora needs you…and he needs Kairi, too. The Organization knows that. So, if you and Kairi are together under their watch, they'll think they've won."_

_Roxas simply stared, listening._

"_If you're one of them, they'll think you're going along with their plans. They'll think you'll stay away from Sora at any cost at their demand, because without you…he can never open the door to the light. They think you'll want the same goal, to stave off the light, because most Nobodies shun both the light and the dark…they don't know any existence at all, because there's no medium between the two. You can't have one without the other, and you can't have neither—because what's left? Nothing, Roxas. There will be nothing left if this goes on much longer. Which is why you and Sora need to find one another before the Organization can finish what they've started."_

"_Why didn't you tell me any of this before?" Roxas said, uncomfortably aware that Namine was still holding his hand. He'd never had a girl take his hand before._

_Namine sighed, and squared her feet before him, staring hard into his gaze._

"_They will sacrifice you, Roxas. They will put an end to you the second you have captured Kairi and delivered her to them. If Sora's Nobody no longer exists, he will forever be incomplete...and unable to open the sacred door. If you disappear, it's all over. There can be no one else. He's the one attached to the prophecy, and if he fails, well…"_

_Roxas' breath caught in his throat._

"_And that's exactly what they want. Without you and Kairi, both, the darkness in Sora's heart outweighs the light. That imbalance alone is enough to destroy anyone of weaker heart—and it hasn't yet, because if he hadn't been the Keyblade master, you'd be all that's left of Sora. Without Kairi, he would have been long gone a year ago."_

"_Why didn't…DiZ tell me this? Any of this? Did he want me to be sacrificed? He--"_

"_Of course he doesn't want you dead. That's the whole point. You are half of Sora…he needs you, Roxas. We need you…you can't let them take you."_

_Roxas exhaled heavily, running one hand through his blonde hair._

"…_all right."_

_Without warning, Namine embraced him tightly about his waist, her face pressed against his chest. His arms hovered over her, his eyes widened in shock._

"_Be safe, Roxas…please be safe, okay?"_

_He patted her back somewhat awkwardly before she released him, looking a bit flushed and a sad smile on her pleasant features._

_She pointed to the mansion._

"_No one in the Order is here, I've made sure of it. Inside, you're going to go up the steps on the right to the east wing. You'll find a library at the end of the hall. Head down the stairwell into the computer room, and go through the first door you see. There'll be…someone there to see you. Follow him to Hollow Bastion."_

"_Right," he said, nodding, his voice betraying some anxiety. "Um…thanks, Namine. Thanks for everything."_

"_Sure," she said, smiling brightly. "Be careful!"_

"_I'll try. Hey…we'll see each other again, won't we?"_

"_Of course. Just…try to remember what I told you?"_

"_I will."_

_His Keyblades appeared in both hands, and he held Oathkeeper up to the iron-shod lock. The gate opened with a drawn-out creak._

………………………………

Dawn. The sun was completely up now, above the horizon. The façade of Hollow Bastion reflected the white sunbeams, and there were two figures sitting against the parapet wall atop the great crest.

Kairi sat with her knees drawn up, leaning on Sora's shoulder with his left arm about her. He sat slouched, his free hand behind his head, the wind taking his bangs out of his eyes.

"Hey, Kairi," Sora said suddenly. They'd been silent for a good five minutes. "...from now on, wherever one of us goes, the other follows. Got it?"

"Is that even a question?" she asked, raising her eyebrows and smiling at him.

"But...Kairi--if it gets too dangerous," he began, looking away. "I...want you to listen to me if I tell you not to follow me."

Kairi frowned slightly, lifting her head from his shoulder. Sora glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, seeing a rather stubborn pout forming.

"...stay behind again?" she asked quietly. "But why?"

"Be--because...I don't want anything to happen to you. Ever."

Kairi opened her mouth to speak, but slowly shut it again. Sora looked a bit worried, biting his lip.

He just wants to protect me...because he cares about me. Doesn't he?

"...okay, then. I promise," she said, leaning up to kiss Sora on the cheek. She felt his fingertips under her chin, and he pulled her close to kiss her softly on the lips. She willingly gave in, her head resting on his shoulder. His hand explored her face gently, tracing along her cheek until he tucked her hair back behind her ear. His touch made Kairi tremble; she shakily slid her hand up and around his neck. She realized she was actually beginning to cry.

Everything was so incredibly complete, just sitting curled up beside the boy she loved, nestled in the crook of his arm. He tentatively deepened the kiss, pulling her that much closer. She was breathless, simply letting him in with equal intensity, and she felt him take her free hand.

Kairi stroked his warm palm with her fingertips as she tried not to drown in his kiss, utterly overtaken by feeling alone. There was nothing else but her senses roaming—not thinking, only feeling. Sora let their fingers interlace, pulling their clasped hands close to his heart.

They broke apart after a moment, Sora kissing her quickly once more as he pulled away. He kept his gaze on Kairi's upturned face, seeing her closed eyes and slightly parted lips as if he'd been blind before now. He saw fresh tears, vaguely worrying if it meant something was wrong (which he rather doubted).

This was the girl he'd fallen hard for, lying wistfully in his arms. Not just a girl…Kairi. His best friend, his comrade—his first love. He'd grown up with her, shared her wild fantasies, been her partner in crime.

He realized he was staring, but found she was looking at him too, unflinching. She smiled.

"Hey," he said, grinning and smoothing a stray lock of hair from her eyes. "Ready to tackle that drop?"

Kairi broke her gaze from Sora's to look around him at the edge of the Crest, biting her lip apprehensively.

"Um…"

Sora chuckled, sitting up straighter. "C'mon, Kairi. We'll go together."

"…okay," she said, letting him help her up from the ground. He took her hand firmly.

"Mm…nothing's like before, is it, Sora?"

"Nope. Guess not," he said, flashing her his goofy grin as they came out of the relative shade of the castle parapets. "But…I don't mind."

"Neither do I," she told him. "…this is real."

"Yeah," he said, looking back at her as he led her to the edge of the crest. Her hand tightened around his. He appeared slightly awestruck, looking almost sadly at Kairi as if he was seeing her in a new light.

She found herself missing his eyes the second they turned away from her to look at the drop. He slowly loosed his hand from hers, and without warning leaped off to the landing ten feet below. Kairi's arms instinctively hugged around herself, her knees buckling a fraction as she stared down at him with a shocked look on her face.

"It's okay!" he called up, his arms outstretched. "Just close your eyes and drop! I'll catch you!"

Her expression turned to one of utter astonishment, taking an involuntary step back from the crest. "What? Are you crazy?"

"Trust me!" he tried again.

Always, Sora.

She shuffled to the edge, loosing her arms from about her own shoulders.

"I can't close my eyes!" she said, leaning down and grinning, more out of nervous fear than with mirth.

"Then don't! Just hop off, I'm right here!"

She bit her lip, steeling her nerve. She tensed, and sat on the edge to slide off, falling with relative ease to the ground below. No sooner did she feel the shock of the floor under the soles of her boots did she feel Sora's arms about her, cushioning the fall as she came completely down to earth. She clutched at him for a second, feeling unstable as the wind left her.

But Sora had lost his footing.

With a shriek, she fell forward and they hit the ground, Kairi sprawled on top of Sora. He had somehow tensed himself so his upper body was curved upward, his head never striking the ground until he let it slowly down himself, his arms splayed out on his back with Kairi clinging desperately around his ribs.

"Are you okay?" she asked breathlessly, shifting off him hastily. He sat up slightly, pillowing his head with one hand.

"No sweat," he replied, his voice hoarse as if he'd had the wind knocked out of him. "Geez, Kairi, you sure are getting strong!"

He laughed, a long clear sound that carried through the misty morning air. Kairi found herself laughing too, sitting up beside his sprawled form and clutching her side.

Sora sat up with some difficulty, still trembling with suppressed laughter, and helped Kairi awkwardly to her feet.

"Uh, that wasn't that bad, was it?"

Kairi playfully rolled her eyes at him as he took her hand again, leading her back into the castle. Their fingers interlaced, their arms swinging lightly back and forth as they went.

"Man, I'm starving…"

"Of course you are. You're Sora, and I could hear your stomach growling from a mile away."

…………………………

"What took you guys so long? Your eggs are getting cold!"

Sora pushed the door open the rest of the way, raising his eyebrows. Yuffie looked up at them, unceremoniously dumping a skillet of scrambled eggs onto a tarnished silver platter she'd dug out from the cupboards.

"Um, sorry?" he said, smiling sheepishly. Kairi followed as he led her in, their fingers entwined.

The castle kitchens were pleasantly warm, the eastern sky and rising sun visible out the slightly dirty windows. The room was suffused with a golden light. Cid, Leon, Donald, and Goofy sat around a roughly hewn wooden table, an odd assortment of food spread haphazardly on its surface. Namine sat in the deep windowsill, concentrating on drawing. The bright sun illuminating her skin made her look even paler than usual.

Leon glanced furtively over his shoulder at Sora and Kairi as they passed behind him to sit at two empty chairs. He raised an eyebrow, a corner of his lips tilting upward in an unintentional grin.

Yuffie shoved the platter onto the table and collapsed into the chair at the end, cleaning her hands with a dishcloth.

"I've got a random thought," she said, tossing the towel behind her and into the sink. It missed, and slid lazily off the edge of the wooden counter and onto the floor. "We searched the whole castle for them, and didn't find anything. Do you think they could've gotten out on their own?"

"That's not like them to leave us wondering, though," Leon said thoughtfully, rubbing his brow as if it pained him.

"Definitely not. Think we should head out to look for them?" Cid asked roughly, tearing off a piece of a hard-crusted bread loaf. "Unless you want me to try the shelter."

"Shelter?" Sora asked. Kairi rested her head on her free arm on the table, her other hand held tightly in Sora's and resting on his knee.

"There's a cave out in the mountain plains that used to be an emergency shelter for the castle citizens. Seeing as we're all that's left, it's been in disuse for a while," Leon said, leaning back in his chair, taking a drink from his mug of orange juice. "Anyway, there's a chance that if they did escape, they may have headed out that way..."

"Should we try there?" Yuffie said. "I can grab the radio, and--"

"I can do it," Namine said suddenly, her head snapping up. "I…haven't been much help to you all. I'll save you the trouble."

Leon looked at her quickly, his eyes studying her.

"I guess, if you really want to," he said slowly, sounding a bit uncertain; Namine looked so eager and sincere he couldn't find it in him to argue. "But, uh…why don't you take someone with you, just in case you do get hold of them. They won't recognize your voice."

Namine got up, closing her sketchbook and smoothing her white dress. She looked expectantly at Kairi. The redhead glanced up, half-smiling, reluctant to leave when she was quite comfortable in the warm kitchen with…Sora next to her.

She finally stood up, turning slightly red as Sora smiled up at her. She was already passing behind Leon before he let go of her hand.

Kairi followed Namine out the door, and it shut with a loud click. Leon promptly took his hand to Sora's head and pushed it down to the table surface, mussing his spiked hair.

"Gah! Leon—mrrf--" Sora stammered against the gloved attack on his head, his hands flailing with his nose to the wood surface. The swordsman released him a second later, and Sora resurfaced, trying to fix his hair that now stood up in all directions.

"About time, Sora," Leon said, giving a genuine smile. "I see you two finally found each other."

Sora's bemused blue eyes suddenly cleared, and he scratched his head rather bashfully, bowing his head and giving a nervous laugh.

Yuffie let out a loud whoop and stood up, smacking her gloved palms against the table surface. She pointed an accusing finger at Cid.

"I win! You owe me twenty munny!"

"Do not!" the pilot said. "You stole it right outta my wallet already. Consider me not giving you a proper whoopin' your reward."

Yuffie's lower lip was sticking out in a stubborn pout as she considered, but then she sat down, defeated, in her chair.

"What were ya bettin' about?" Goofy asked, looking quite confused. Donald let out a frustrated quack, shaking his head.

"Isn't it obvious?" Yuffie said. "Look at this kid. He's bright red. He and Kairi were holding hands. Doesn't take a genius to figure out what's happened here." She gestured lazily at Sora with a banana before beginning to peel it.

Sora threw his hands up, leaning back to stare at the ceiling and sliding down in his seat. "You win, I surrender!"

"Ha! I always do!" the ninja cried. She paused. "…what am I doing here with all you _men_? I should be bothering Kairi."

She took a huge bite out of the banana, setting it down on her plate and licking her fingertips off before sliding her chair out and rushing after Kairi and Namine.

"All right, now that they're all spoken for…" Leon began gruffly, his indigo eyes slightly glazed over. There was a long silence, in which the knight, mage, Keyblade master, swordsman, and pilot simply finished their meals.

"If you don't mind me asking, Leon," Sora said after a few moments, sitting up straighter. "Do you know why the Organization came here?"

Leon combed his gloved fingers through his hair, leaning propped up on one elbow on the table.

"Well, we have an idea," he began. "Namine told us something about the Organization having gotten some information out of Sephiroth."

"Sephiroth?"

"Cloud and him ain't the best of pals, get me?" Cid put in, gritting his teeth. "He may've lived in Hollow Bastion for a good bit of his life, but he was born in another world. Word is, he made it back there somehow when this 'un got overrun back when he was only thirteen, and some real bad stuff happened. They've been at each other's throats since I found 'im a year ago, in the Coliseum."

"The Organization must've tracked him down and gotten something out of him. It looks like they'd gotten to Cloud and Aerith by the time we saw them, they were in pretty bad shape," Leon said, shutting his eyes tightly for a second.

Sora's fist clenched on the table, but his face was soft. "Why would they be looking for just those two…?"

"We ain't sure," Cid said gruffly. "But it's gotta be the truth, because…worst case scenario, they found them and dealt with them, and now they've all flown the coop."

"How are we even supposed to know what they want anymore?" Leon said, resting his chin on his folded hands. "Their behavior's been totally unpredictable. And they even had two internal spies without even realizing it—Riku and his Majesty."

"Not a very organized Organization…" Sora quipped half-heartedly.

"True enough. What are they aiming for?" Leon asked wearily.

"Well…Kingdom Hearts," Sora said slowly, as if it were obvious.

"Again?" Leon said, looking mildly surprised.

"Well, Kairi came and found us in the Beast's castle not too long ago," Donald piped up. "And Xaldin figured out she was a Princess of Heart and separated all of us."

"But, y'see, then Riku rescued 'er and busted us out. 'N' Belle told Kairi they're tryin' to round 'em up again," Goofy said, tapping his chin with one gloved finger, thinking hard.

"Huh…well, what do you know?" Leon said, sitting back in his chair. "They're not as intelligent as they look."

"What do you mean?" Sora asked, raising his eyebrows.

"They want Kingdom Hearts, I think…to get back the hearts they're missing. They're shells of humans—basically, the bodies live on after a Heartless devours the heart. My guess…is that they're assuming the hearts will be untainted by the darkness of Kingdom Hearts."

"And then…they'd be very, very wrong," Cid said, grinning.

"How do you know?" Sora asked eagerly, sitting up straighter.

"We've been in the library recently—the King left some notes on the Nobodies when he visited Ansem the Wise. Two and two together…"

Yuffie suddenly crashed back into the kitchen. There was a wild look in her eyes.

"Th—they're not gone! Sora! They—he—took Kairi!"

"What?" Sora shouted, standing up so fast his chair slid across the floor and toppled over with a crash.

"It was…Riku, I think, and this other kid…"

"Riku? Kairi!"

Sora took off so fast, Leon had to grab the table to steady himself as he ran by. Goofy and Donald were up in a flash, nearly upending their own chairs as well as they sped after Sora.

"Yuffie!" Leon said, running to her and putting both hands on her shoulders fiercely. "Where'd they go?"

Yuffie appeared close to tears. "I don't know, I don't know! There was this blonde kid, and Namine just…we lost track of her, and he grabbed Kairi and then I saw Riku following and they went into this nasty portal thing…" She finally burst, a choked sob coming from her throat. "I c-couldn't do anything to help, they j-just…"

"Yuffie, it's okay," Leon said, his voice sharp, but loosening his grip on her shoulders almost apologetically. "Let's just go, all right?"

Yuffie nodded blindly and wiped at her tears hurriedly as Leon began to pull her at a run by her wrist, Cid running with a yell alongside them.

"He…he looked so much like him…"

…………………………………………………

Oh gosh, and you guys thought you were going to get away without a cliffhanger. And I bet you thought the angst was over, too. Think again, mwahaha!

Sorry this one's so cruel, but I actually have chapter 19 fully written already. It's in my notebook. It should be up soon.

Reviews much appreciated! PLEASE INCLUDE WHAT YOU THINK SHOULD BE THIS STORY'S SUMMARY, I'M TRYING TO WRITE A NEW ONE! I WILL PICK MY FAVORITE!


	19. Roxas

I'll edit with a proper Author's Note tomorrow, it's late and I'm tired. Enjoy Chapter 19.

-------

Chapter 19: Roxas

Darkness.

It was all she was aware of for three heart-pounding seconds. She had been in the middle of a rather embarrassing interrogation by Yuffie just a second before, and now all she saw was black. It suffocated her, pressing onto her senses so suddenly she could hardly think of how to react.

Suddenly she realized the darkness was not in her head, but outside of it. Around it, in fact.

Kairi struggled against what seemed to be one strong arm wrapped about her waist from behind. Her hand flew up to try to dissipate the pressing darkness over her face…a blindfold. The fabric was stretched so taut across her features she couldn't breathe through it.

A frenzy was going on inside her and around her—she could hear Yuffie yelling something, but she couldn't make it out. Suddenly she felt air on her lips again as the fabric was peeled roughly away from the lower part of her face, and she took a great breath and screamed out.

"Sora!"

A warm hand slapped over her mouth, silencing her, but she bit down viciously. The hand withdrew instantly; she felt the wind on her face as he shook the hand in midair, trying to dull the pain.

"Ouch!" she heard a surprised voice uncomfortably close to her ear, a sharp edge on the word. A deeper voice. A young man.

But it worked. She could speak again.

"Yuffie! Namine—help—"

Kairi's words were cut short as she felt a sharp jab in her abdomen; her captor had elbowed her in the stomach. Winded, she sagged, gasping.

"Just go, Roxas, go!"

She knew that voice.

"Riku," she said weakly, the world slipping out as a breath.

Who is…Roxas?

Suddenly she felt the cold sensation in the pit of her stomach. Her captor—Roxas?—was doing the same thing Riku did that night in Belle's castle. Teleporting.

Kairi crumpled in his grip as they went, not sure if she was deliberately trying to make his job harder or if the darkness was really weakening her this much. She weakly clawed at him, only able to access the arm still snaked around her waist.

Then they were free.

The arm suddenly withdrew from her, and her knees buckled. She landed on her hands and knees, her forearms scraping along rocky ground. The blindfold was still tied tightly over her eyes, the fabric stretched over her ears and tied roughly into her red hair.

Disoriented, she suddenly felt gloved hands reach around her to pull her to her feet, almost gently this time. She swayed slightly, still gasping from the trip and the now-forming bruise below her ribs, and felt someone catch her in their arms and steady her.

She didn't resist, simply allowed this stranger to hold her until she could stand on her own. Her thoughts were a blur; too much had happened in the last passing moment she still couldn't comprehend it.

Sora…I'm lost…got me…who…?

Suddenly her senses snapped back, and her body convulsed, pushing away from the smothering presence. The arms retreated from around her.

Kairi seized the opportunity and tore the fabric off her eyes.

"Who are—"

She stopped short.

Roxas stared down at her. She looked at him unflinching, but he saw her take an involuntary step back.

"You—you look—"

"Just like him, I know," he wearily finished for her.

He had a mess of red-blonde hair, sticking up in all directions, but it was close-cropped at the base of his neck. He wore—she gasped as she noticed—the garb of the Organization, a long black leather coat with silver hood-pulls and a strand of silver charms across the neckline. He couldn't have been more than fifteen. Startlingly blue eyes bore into hers, a near carbon copy of Sora's. She felt lost in them, almost believing for a moment he was…

"Who are you?" Kairi asked, second-guessing herself as she tore her eyes away.

"I'm nobody worth mentioning…"

"What's your name?"

"…Roxas."

They were standing in a windswept plain that stretched as far as she could see, a great maw in the mountains. She looked left and right, seeing them bordering the plain, misty fog still hanging low over their peaks in the cool morning.

"There," Roxas said, pointing.

Kairi turned, seeing they were standing near the mouth of a deep crevasse in the face of the foothills of one mountain. She looked at the blonde.

"Uh…what about it?"

A flash of metal blinded her momentarily, and she stared at her own sword, held so near her face she froze in terror.

"Listen," Roxas told her, his eyes grim. "You're going in there. You're to wait…there…until I come back for you."

She felt something scrape lightly at the back of her sweater. Another weapon—his own.

"U-understand?"

Kairi noted the falter in the boy's voice, glancing at him sidelong as she tried not to breathe with the blade in such close proximity.

"I—I understand," she said. He lowered the sword.

"I'm…I'm sorry about this, Kairi, I really am."

Roxas put a hand to her back, and pushed her gently toward the crevasse. She marched with deliberate lag, knowing it was useless to argue. She was in the middle of some unknown world, unarmed, with someone from the Organization at her back.

No matter how much he looked like Sora—she couldn't help but hate him with all her being. But then again…he seemed so much like him…even the way he seemed remorseful about what he was doing.

Maybe…

"You're going to just leave me here? I'm--" she protested, her desperate tension rising to the surface as she entered the cave. She stopped suddenly and pretended to cough. If he didn't know she was one of the Princesses, she certainly wasn't going to be the one to tell him.

Roxas didn't answer. Kairi suddenly stopped short, taking in a sharp breath.

He was holding…a Keyblade in his other hand.

He tossed her sword, and it landed with a clang against the rock at her feet. She stared down at it, not even noticing the boy seal off the entrance until she was cast into pitch darkness.

Roxas turned, falling back against the rock face he had just locked the princess behind, his hands splaying against it. He looked about uncomfortably, biting his lip.

She was very pretty, just as he'd been told.

A light blush rose in his cheeks. He shook his head.

……………………………………

Kairi lost composure for a moment, shrieking behind closed lips and picking her sword up. She shoved it harder than she had intended into its sheath across her back, and was forced to step backward to keep her balance.

She blindly felt about with her fingertips, eventually finding the rock wall. She turned fully about, following it until she tripped over a rock. She hopped on one foot, massaging the toe of her boot.

"Ugh…" she moaned at last, finding no other word suitable for her situation.

Defeated, she sat where she stood, an odd feeling of claustrophobia overtaking her stunned senses. She could not see the boundaries of where she was; she knew only the darkness, and that alone was too big of a territory to ever find her way through.

"Sora," she whispered into the void. The thought of…him…was still enough to make her heart skip a beat. Her fingers brushed her lower lip.

What was this feeling? Something she'd found in herself only this morning, awakened only when Sora finally got up the courage to kiss her.

If this is what I think it is, she thought, smiling, it's a lot better than I ever imagined.

Tell him? No, she couldn't. She was still so nervous around him, it was like this new level of their relationship required her to start all over, re-discover him. It was as if she had never been his best friend—that she'd never met him before, that she still had so much to learn.

Maybe all she had to learn…was how to let him know, how to remember how close they'd been before he'd turned her world upside down. To combine the best of both worlds.

To learn how to have her best friend in the world by her side, as he'd always been…and to be head-over-heels in…was it love?…with Sora, too.

_Wherever he goes, I follow._

Her heart gave an unpleasant jolt as a blinding flash of light briefly illuminated the cavern. Kairi looked up, seeing for one fleeting second its source.

_It isn't a cavern…it's a tunnel!_

Sure enough, when the colors stopped winking behind her vision, she could detect a faint grey hue to the distant right of where she sat.

She stood up carefully, drawing her sword. Having a sudden idea, she swung the blade lightly into the rock wall. The brief shower of sparks was faint, but enough to show her the ground and establish direction.

Distant voices. Kairi moved faster, swinging her sword loudly against the rock wall with every step she took. The light suddenly flickered and she froze.

"What is that?" a female voice hissed.

"How should I know?"

A young, gruff male voice.

Kairi threw her arm up as blinding light appeared from around the distant corner.

"Hide yourself!" the male voice shouted back from where he'd appeared. Kairi dropped to her knees, her sword clattering to the floor, cowering.

"Who are you?" the voice demanded. Kairi lifted her head, resigned, as she realized the man was standing right over her with a sword and flashlight.

Her eyes flicked up. Black pants…navy sweater…

"Kairi!"

Her head snapped up and locked onto a pair of clear, stern blue eyes partially obscured by feathery blonde hair. He sheathed his sword behind his back hurriedly.

"Cloud!"

Cloud stared at her in shock and stooped, offering the shaken girl a hand. She took it gratefully, and he pulled her to her feet.

"Are you alone? Are you hurt?" he asked, his characteristic emotionless expression in place but his voice full of concern.

"No, no, I'm all right. I was alone," she said shakily, taking comfort in her older friend's hand on her shoulder. "I got—kidnapped, I was thrown in here—wait, are we still in Hollow Bastion?"

"Uh, yeah…where else would we be?" Cloud said, looking alarmed all of a sudden. "Kairi, who kidnapped you?"

"This kid in the Organization named Roxas. I…I don't think he knew you'd be here," she said, frowning. "We…Cloud, I'm so happy to see you!"

She tried to keep the tears stinging her eyes from welling up as she abruptly hugged him around the waist. He reddened, awkwardly patting her on the back.

"You are?" Cloud said, his voice betraying surprise. "Uh…I don't know what's going on, but come on, let's go in."

"In?" Kairi said as he led her farther into the cavern.

"Yeah, this is an old castle shelter."

Kairi watched as the floor slowly transitioned from rough rock to smooth bricks under her feet. Cloud was silent.

"Oh!" she gasped as they emerged into what was, obviously, the shelter.

A small circular window was hewn into the curved rock ceiling, through which pale light was filtering onto the brick floor. The entire room appeared to have been blasted into existence by explosives, some erratic cracks and divots in the walls and ceiling. A desk and assortment of bookshelves was crowding one corner near a cracked, but clean washbasin. A large bed was pushed against one wall, and a bolted wooden door occupied the smoothest rock face.

Cloud put two gloved fingers between his lips, and gave two short whistles.

Her stomach dropped as one of the bookshelves suddenly slid away from the wall, and Aerith stumbled out of a hidden hollow behind it, smoothing her pink dress. She looked up, and after a brief expression of shock, broke into a true smile.

"Kairi!"

Kairi gasped in relief as Aerith ran to her, wrapping her in a tight hug.

"I'm so glad you're safe!" Aerith cried. Kairi bit her lip and let the tears come as she bent her face into Aerith's shoulder, not returning the hug.

"…What's the matter?" Aerith asked, pulling away and brushing a stray lock of hair from Kairi's tearstained face in a mother-like fashion.

"Y-you…" Kairi stammered. "Leon and…you…we all thought both of you were dead!"

"What?" Aerith exclaimed, the smile vanishing in an instant. "Dead?"

Kairi nodded dazedly.

"Oh, goodness, is that what she made them believe?" Aerith said, clapping her hand to her forehead and looking incredulously at Cloud. "No wonder you're so frightened…"

"T-they said the Organization had invaded, and that both of you had gone missing, and they found blood where they had last seen you..."

The confusion seemed to clear from Aerith's face at her words, and she looked away from Kairi. "…she did a very thorough job, didn't she?"

"Who?" Kairi asked tentatively.

"We had another offworld visitor the morning after you disappeared," Aerith began, taking Kairi by the hand and leading her toward the makeshift study. "A girl about your age—I don't believe she told us her name. She came rather early, and only Cloud and I happened to be around to receive her."

Cloud followed them, leaning against the bookshelf nearest the as Aerith seated Kairi in one of the chairs by the desk.

"She brought us this letter. It's from his Majesty," Aerith said, producing a wrinkled leaf of paper from a stack on the desk.

"The King!" Kairi repeated in surprise, taking the letter. She slid her finger under an already-broken seal that looked remarkably like Mickey's silhouette.

_To the residents of Hollow Bastion,_

_Hope that all of you are doin' well. I've been hearing rumors while travelin', and wanted to let ya know._

_You obviously know the prophecies about our Sora. He's the one who's gonna open the door to eternal light. Well, there's more to it than that. He won't know where to find the darn thing without another piece of the puzzle…_

_I've been doing some huntin' through some ancient records in the library at Beast's castle. There's not much, but I pieced it together with my own findings from ten years ago in your own castle. Ansem had quite a lot of information on the Heartless, the Old Magic, and the Princesses. He also mentioned a lot of stuff about prophecy, and at first I thought it was a whole lot of baloney._

_To make a long story short, it turns out everything is driven by prophecy, as vague as the word seems. It ain't just fairy tales anymore, it's true-blue rules the worlds are suspended in. If these prophecies are interfered witht, the fabric of the universe will slowly unravel. And everything's a whole lot more urgent now that this is all goin' on, with Organization XIII running around making a huge mess out of things._

_This is where Aerith comes in. Turns out she's the granddaughter of the last Muse—_

"Old Magic…Muse?" Kairi said questioningly, looking up.

"Just…keep reading," Cloud replied, waving her on.

_Obviously, this is related to the Princesses too, especially Kairi. The last Muse was her grandmother as well, though she probably doesn't remember very much about her. This would make Kairi and Aerith first cousins, if I'm not mistaken. Kairi inherited some of this tradition and is the seventh Princess of Heart, and Aerith is the new Muse._

_But this is very important. Aerith is the last Muse…the final one._

_I'm sendin' this letter in very able hands. She knows a foolproof way to get the Order to retreat from Hollow Bastion. By the looks of it, the only reason they're tryin' to break in is to get rid of the Muse, and nab the Princess, if they can. If at all possible, make absolutely sure Kairi doesn't come to Hollow Bastion—_

Kairi swallowed hard. It was a bit late for that.

_And Aerith, you need to go into hiding, and fast. Take someone with you…someone you can trust. Hopefully the young lady I'm sending this with can tell ya the rest._

_Your pal, Mickey_

"This, uh…complicates things," Kairi breathed.

"Just a little," Cloud said, crossing his arms.

"The girl told us she'd take care of telling everyone where we were going, so they wouldn't worry or come after us. I didn't expect her to do it quite…that way," Aerith said, shuddering. "You're saying they think we're dead or missing and not just in hiding?"

"Well, yeah! You should've seen Yuffie, she was a wreck—and I saw blood on the floor in the library near the radio," Kairi said, shuddering. "Leon told me the whole story about how you guys came running into the library all wounded, and how they lost track of you just after."

Aerith looked entirely lost, her hand on her forehead as she sat back in her chair.

"It…doesn't make any sense. It all fits together so perfectly when you say it like that, but…we were never there! We've been here the whole time!"

Cloud appeared deep in thought.

"Wait. Something's screwy here. Why couldn't that girl have told Leon and everyone the truth about where we were going? Why'd she lie like that?"

"And it sounds like Leon's seeing things or something—like he watched it happen. But it didn't!" Aerith put in.

Kairi suddenly clapped her hand to her forehead.

"Was this girl blonde? Kind of skinny?" she asked.

"Yes, she was," Aerith said, eyeing Kairi curiously. "Do you know her?"

"Yeah, I do…she's a friend of mine. Her name is Namine—wait, how does she know the King?" Kairi replied, thinking out loud.

Cloud shrugged. "I don't know, but I don't think I like the sound of this. Are you sure you can trust this…Namine?"

Kairi's expression softened, and she rubbed at her brow, frowning. "I…I think so, yes. She's never given me any reason not to trust her. She's always been so nice to me."

Aerith shook her head. "If you don't think she's got bad intentions, Kairi, then I believe you. I thought she seemed quite normal when I met her, too."

"But that doesn't mean she isn't wrapped up in some sticky plot," Cloud put in bluntly. "Bad stuff tends to happen to good people."

"The only thing I can think of is…well, she can alter memories," Kairi offered.

Aerith pursed her lips, nodding. "Well…that would explain a lot."

"So she changed Leon and everyone's memories so they'd think we'd been killed," Cloud murmured, theorizing. "That would make sense…if we're still thinking they haven't all gone insane."

Aerith chuckled a little. "No, I'm pretty sure Leon has his head square on his shoulders."

"But I still don't really get it," Kairi said, pouting slightly. "Why?"

"Who cares," Cloud said, waving it off and rolling his eyes. "I'd rather just tell them, 'Yo, hey, guess what! We're alive!' and just forget about it. Get back to all this Muse business…"

"As if there wasn't enough going on," Aerith said wearily, picking up a half-empty water bottle from the desk and taking a long sip. "This…'muse' stuff is the reason we're hiding out. Namine told us that my grandmother was the long-expected Muse who finally was inspired with the story of the fabled Door to the Light. She was a prophet, of sorts."

"Sort of like…a fortune teller?" Kairi asked skeptically.

"Much more than that," Aerith said, shaking her head. "This is serious business, not guesswork. The Old Magic is behind that."

"Yeah, and we still have no idea what that's all about," Cloud murmured. "If the King ever shows up, hopefully he can explain it."

"And they told us about the Princess' memories, how they'll eventually become important—Namine told me your memory, and said she'd be giving it to you eventually. Your—our—grandmother was the one who originally spoke those words."

"Oh!" Kairi exclaimed. "So that's what she meant."

"What Namine told me, though, is that I'll be the last Muse. They've been around for centuries, even during the time of the very first Keyblade masters. Apparently, the entire story as it's been woven…has been handed down to me and I'm the only one who will be able to interpret it," Aerith said, sighing. "It's the Light's last chance. It's the last chance for the Door to be opened."

"Which puts her at the top of the Organization's most-wanted list," Cloud put in sourly.

"And now you're hiding out…what, so you can figure it out?"

"Exactly," Aerith said, smiling. "I've gotta sort through this mess and figure out the answer to the puzzle so Sora can open the door. Problem is, the Organization wants me dead."

Kairi stood up suddenly, her chair skidding loudly across the cobblestones.

"Oh no…I…I've led them right to you!" she spluttered. "Roxas—he'll be coming back for me, he said he would! He'll find us!"

"That's…they…oh," Cloud said, suddenly clapping his hand to his forehead. "Wait…I get it now."

Aerith seemed to follow. "Kairi…you found Sora after you left, am I right?"

"Yes," Kairi said, flushing. "We came here together."

"This was all planned," Cloud said, feverishly running a hand through his hair. "She—Namine—implanted that dying crap as a memory in order to draw you and Sora here."

"She was exploiting what she knows about both of you," Aerith said quietly. "She knew if your friends were in trouble, you'd come here no matter how dangerous it was. It was a lie…and a trap."

Kairi swayed slightly.

"You're right…"

"This is bad," Cloud said roughly. "We can't stay here…Kairi, you're coming with us."

"Where?" Kairi asked as Aerith took her staff off a stand on the wall. "Where are we going?"

"Back to the castle," Aerith said, a fire in her eyes Kairi had never seen before. "This shelter isn't safe anymore."

------------

Yeah, cliffie!

Reviews MUCH appreciated.


	20. Divided They Fall

WOO to the OOT! I'm sure you all appreciated chapter 19. They're okay!

So a bunch of you are completely thrown off by loyalties in this story. Yes, well, this may clear some things up--though you may need to go back to chapter 18 to fully understand WHY Roxas had to kidnap Kairi in the first place. You'll see--trust me, I know what I'm doing.

_Riku_: Suuuure you do.  
_Per_: I do, I swear!  
_Kairi_: You said the other day that you feel like your story is writing itse--  
_Per_: SHH!  
_Sora_: Glad you got over your slump.  
_Per_: Yeah, my muse moved back in.  
_Roxas_: Your muse?  
_Per_: Yeah, she ran away with my Photoshop muse. I think they were having an affair.

Hopefully this chapter doesn't confuse y'all too badly. It's, ah...Squiffie-riffic. Wow. Try saying that ten times fast. Enjoy Chapter 20. By the way, this fic hit its first birthday on June 6. Happy Birthday, TTIF! Thank you to all my amazing reviewers!

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 20: Divided They Fall

"Gawrsh, Sora, slow down!"

"I CAN'T slow down!"

"S-sora, there's nothing--you--can do now--she's--she's gone."

Donald dropped to the floor, sitting upright, chest heaving. He took his hat off and wiped the sweat from his forehead as Goofy surrendered, putting his hands on his knees and gasping for breath.

The teenager slowed to a stop fifty paces away, standing trembling in the morning sunlight filtering through the windows.

"Kairi..."

He went down on his knees, his Keyblade vanishing from his grasp. He reeled forward, forcing his stunned mind to catch himself until he knelt prostrate on the floor, his head hanging low between his arms as his chest burned. He coughed, drawing one wrist across his upper lip as he tried to stand up.

"...where are you?"

He suddenly felt a warm gloved hand on his shoulder as he sat back on his heels. He glanced up at Goofy, who stared down at him with more sorrow and comfort in his expression than Sora could bear. He nodded mutely at his friend, allowing him to help him up, somewhat clumsily. Donald stood at his side, patting the teenager's arm amiably as Sora attempted to dust himself off.

"Thanks...Donald, Goofy."

Donald managed a small smile, though his brows were still drawn up in worry.

"No problem."

Sora rubbed at his tired eyes with one hand. "...what do we do now?"

Donald and Goofy exchanged an anxious glance.

"Gawrsh, Sora..." Goofy replied. "We're not gonna let anything happen to 'er, okay? Everythin' is gonna be just fine."

"Yeah!" Donald piped up, gripping his staff with two hands. "We'll help you find Kairi, even if we have to search every world out there. You know we will."

Sora smiled halfway, despite himself. "You really mean it?"

"Sure we do," Goofy said, patting Sora on the back. "But you gotta listen to us first. We gotta use what we've got here."

"Right," Donald added. "We've got our friends. They'll always look out for you, Sora. You just gotta ask. We'll track Kairi down--I'm positive."

Sora looked at his feet, closing his eyes. Donald turned and looked pleadingly at Leon, Yuffie, and Cid as they slowed their frantic chase at the end of the hallway they stood in.

"I hope you're right," Sora said quietly. "Kairi is...my...I can't..."

"You won't have to, Sora," Leon said, having finally caught up to the trio. "Light is easy to find."

Sora looked up, and eyed the swordsman doubtfully. "Easy...?"

Yuffie trailed Leon slowly, and appeared to have one arm linked with his as a coughing Cid came up behind.

"Listen, Sora," Leon said sharply, staring the young man in the eye. "Try to feel. Is she still nearby?"

"What? I don't--"

"Your heart," Yuffie said simply. "You'd know it if she was really gone."

Sora opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly bit back the words he intended to say as his hand flew to his chest. He stared unseeing into space before him, turning his true sight inward, feeling for any glimmer.

Any sign.

"Even if we're apart, we're not alone anymore. Right?"

A slow warmth pulsed from the point his hand touched. He smiled softly.

"Kairi's all right. I know she is." The hand resting on his chest curled into a fist. "...I'll find her!"

Leon gave a rare smile.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

_She didn't know what else to do. They'd shown up. The operation had suddenly been thrown into action._

_She ran._

_She took off down the dim hallway, her long hair flying back from her face and chaos unfolding behind her. She turned the first corner she came upon, a page flying out of her sketchbook and fluttering to the floor in a pool of patchy sunlight near a stained-glass window. She paid no heed, just concentrated on not tripping over her own feet._

_"SORA!" a desperate voice screamed, too far away for it to pierce her guilt too sharply._

_She flew up a stairwell, heading toward what, she didn't know. She stopped, gasping for breath at the T-junction of two hallways, and scrambled for a doorknob, pushing herself into the room and slamming the door behind her, throwing her whole weight against it._

_Namine sprawled her body across the door, coughing, chest heaving, holding it shut and closing her eyes to steady her nerves._

_"It's begun," a voice said somewhere in front of her. "It's sink or float now."_

_She collapsed, falling to her knees, the sketchbook sliding loosely from her sweating palm and hitting the floor in a spray of loose papers._

_Please...let it all go our way..._

_She choked a small sob, burying her face in the crook of her elbow as she sat back on her heels, her knees aching from hitting the floor with so much deadweight. Her tears were hot against her skin, a whimper coming high and trembling from between her closed lips._

_"Kairi...I'm so, so sorry."_

_"She can't hear you, you know."_

_Namine looked up with a scowl, the sunlight in the windows dazzling her in her tears' reflections. She wiped them away hurriedly, composing herself._

_"I know she can't. It doesn't change the fact that I'm sorry."_

_"Namine..."_

_She sighed, a deep shuddering breath, and sagged, propping herself up with her hands and sitting fully down on the wooden floor._

_The other occupant of the room suddenly dropped to the floor beside her, mocking her position. She still refused to meet his eyes._

_"What did you do to her, Roxas?"_

_"I didn't do anything," he said, bringing his knees to his chest and folding his hands atop them. "I just...dropped her off."_

_"Where?"_

_"In the mountains."_

_"In the mountains? You just LEFT her there?"_

_"No. I sent her in the cave."_

_Namine's blood suddenly ran cold. She looked at him in horror._

_"The shelter! Roxas, have you lost it?"_

_"No, I haven't," he said calmly, looking slightly taken aback. "I just...threw a wild card into the mix. I thought about it, though, Namine. I'm not stupid."_

_"Riku was right," Namine said, putting her fingertips to her temples, the heat rising in her face. "You and Axel ARE alike."_

_"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, an edge of amusement on his voice._

_"...Roxas, that's where I sent the Muse and her guardian," Namine said, grabbing at his arm, shaking it. "...Kairi's going to find them...and she'll come out of hiding. It's not a game anymore! This is life and death, don't you understand...?"_

_"I do understand," he answered quietly, looking down and to his left at the slight girl pulling at the leather of his black jacket. "And if the light is going to war with the dark, it's up to those who are allied with neither to change the tide."_

_Namine stared at him, not understanding._

_"Most of the Order is gone, Namine. Riku and I are all that's left in this world. They think the Muse is dead...right?"_

_Namine looked stunned for a moment, but then nodded mutely._

_"Right...so isn't it okay for her to come out of hiding now?" he asked. "I don't know about you, Namine, but if it were me...I would have as many friends around as I could. Don't they always say, 'United we stand, divided we fall'? The Light needs as much help as it can get...doesn't it?"_

_"Like hell, it does."_

_The two jumped as they saw Axel materialize in the far corner. He walked straight up to them, wasting no time, arms crossed and towering over them. There were tired grey circles under his green eyes._

_"...but that doesn't change anything. Not in the least," he said, staring Roxas straight in the eye. "Saix will return here for the Princess himself if you don't take her to HQ by tomorrow's dusk."_

_Namine's grip tightened uncomfortably on Roxas' forearm._

_"If you want to pull this off, Blondie," Axel said, squaring himself. "You need to nab Kairi and take her there. To hell with the Muse and her friends. You screwed that one up, but it's out of our hands now. Got it memorized?"_

_"I don't get it!" Roxas suddenly exclaimed, getting to his feet, Namine following him and still holding onto his arm. "Why are we dividing them up? If the Light's missing one of their Princesses, that CAN'T be good for their side, can it!"_

_"Because, dimwit," Axel shot back. "The ultimatum is set. If we don't bring that Princess in alive, the plan goes to pieces. They will return for the Princess and find the Muse."_

_Roxas swallowed hard._

_"And they will kill her. And you, my fair-haired friend, will be good as gone."_

_"That's...that's why DiZ made me do this, isn't it," Namine whispered. "He ordered me to set it up so they'd abandon this place, so Leon and the others can think out their plan of action in peace--and so Aerith can riddle out where to find the Door."_

_Axel cocked an eyebrow, but gave a short jerk of the head in approval._

_"You...you've got to sacrifice a little to get what you want, Roxas. Do you remember what I told you?"_

_The blonde shook his head, worry evident in his eyes._

_"I said...oh...oh no," she cried suddenly, looking up at Axel. "You...you know what they'll do, if he crosses that threshold, right?"_

_"No. Enlighten me."_

_"They'll--destroy Roxas the second they've got Kairi. They have no need for him anymore. If he ever met Sora, he'd have his missing piece back--Roxas would complete him. They can't risk that happening."_

_"DAMN," Axel swore, clutching his head suddenly. "They make this so friggin' DIFFICULT!"_

_He paced twice, then let go of his shock of red hair to slam his fists into the wall. Roxas stared at him, alarmed, until the thin man stopped shaking in suppressed rage._

_"...how do we stand, right now?" Axel asked quietly, almost dangerously._

_Namine let go of Roxas' arm, folding her hands._

_"Well," the blonde said quietly. "If...if I go and kidnap Kairi again, first...I'd have to deal with the Muse and her guardian, somehow separate them. Then...I'd have to take her to Twilight Town, which might be hard, since I get the feeling she hates me."_

_Axel nodded, now looking pensively at the floor. "Two snags in that plan already."_

_"But if I did get her there and to the base..." he said, and swallowed hard. "...they're gonna get rid of me. I don't think I can face them all on my own. And then...Sora's forever missing his other half...which screws the universe over."_

_Axel said nothing, but gave a curt nod in grim agreement._

_"Plus...Kairi would sort of...be in the Organization's clutches. That's not good."_

_Axel swore under his breath. "That effectively eliminates plan A, kiddos."_

_A lone tear slid down Namine's cheek._

_"And," Axel said, turning to them with gritted teeth. "What's our alternative?"_

_Roxas sighed heavily. "I sit here and do nothing, let Kairi find her way back to the others, and the Organization invades again and finds...both the Princess and the Muse."_

_"Caught between a rock and a hard place," Axel seethed. "It's a game of who we sentence to death...even though it'll all come to the same end."_

_"The same end..." Namine repeated in a small voice. "Which will be that...the Door can't be opened. Am I right?"_

_"You said it, kid," Axel said, turning around and leaning against the wall, crossing his arms. "Either the Muse gets picked off, and we never find the Door--or the Keyblade master's Nobody goes poof, and spiky-boy can't ever OPEN the damn thing, even if the Muse figured out where it was."_

_Namine looked down, staring through unshed tears at her feet. Roxas glanced at her, something like pity in his clear blue eyes, and put a hand on her shoulder. She stiffened slightly, but warmed toward the comforting hold he took on her._

_"...so what do we do now?"_

_A sharp rap sounded against the door._

_Axel eyed the door warily, cocking an eyebrow. He glanced at Roxas._

_"Uh, Axel..." Roxas said tentatively. "I...don't think the Organization would bother knocking."_

_Axel clicked his tongue, but seemed to agree, and his hand closed around the brass doorknob. He opened it a fraction, staring out._

_"Let me in."_

_"And if I don't?"_

_"You get Soul Eater in the groin."_

_Axel visibly rolled his eyes and stepped away from the door. Riku sidled in, shutting the door with a loud click._

_"Riku...? What's up?" Roxas asked as the silver-haired boy untied his blindfold, fastening it around his wrist for safekeeping._

_"Where did you take Kairi?" he asked bluntly, cerulean eyes flashing._

_"I, uh, the...the castle shelter in the mountains," Roxas said uncomfortably. "But Riku--we've been thinking..."_

_"I heard everything past that. Listen...I suggest we head downstairs."_

_Riku grinned._

_"You know, I hear Leon's friends with a pretty skilled gummi pilot."_

-----------------------------------------------------------

"OW!" Yuffie whimpered, clutching at the headphones over her ears as a shrill, ascending tone crackled over the speakers. She yanked them off. "Agh, I think i just went deaf in one ear!"

"Give it here," Leon ordered, pulling them off from around her neck and pressing one pad to his ear and plugging the other. "Cid, try the fourth channel."

The gummi pilot leaned close to the radio, turning the largest dial as he listened intently for any click of connection. "Anythin', Leon?"

"Hollow Bastion to Shelter, acknowledge, over," Leon said. Sora sat on the desk nearby, tapping his foot against the floor and looking more than a little worried. Yuffie was rubbing feverishly at the offended ear with one finger, wincing.

"...Hollow Bastion to Shel--what?--Shelter, we read you, over--"

Sora's foot stopped tapping.

"--is that--" Leon appeared to be struggling between an outburst and trying to keep to code. His voice trembled slightly as he spoke loudly, "Identify speaker, please, over."

Yuffie had her fingers interlaced and pressed against her lips, fidgeting where she stood.

Leon suddenly clapped a hand to his forehead, whipping around with a look of pure relief on his face.

"--acknowledged, Shelter," he said, sinking back to sit on the edge of the desk. "Cloud, where the HELL have you two been?"

Sora grinned brightly as Yuffie squealed aloud and slapped him a sharp high-five.

"What--is--WHAT?"

Yuffie's smiled vanished in an instant, and she looked at Leon, whose face had paled considerably. He was silent for a moment, listening, not speaking.

"Can--can I talk to her?"

Sora perked up, looking at Leon's shocked face with desperate hope. The swordsman held the earphone closer, waiting with apparent bated breath.

"...hello?" he said, then a pure smile broke onto his stern features. "...thank God."

Something wonderful, something like _hope,_ lifted and spread without warning somewhere in Sora's chest.

Sora looked wildly over at Donald and Goofy, who were staring equally hopefully at the swordsman.

"Who is it?" Sora managed hoarsely, the color draining from his face.

A mighty tug-of-war had ensued as Yuffie tried to pry the earphones away from Leon and Cid had situated himself atop the desk to listen beside his ear.

"Yuffie here!" she cried into the mouthpiece, pressing the side of her face against Leon's and stretching the headphones over so one side hovered near her own ear. Sora leaped atop the desk and leaned over the bizarre huddle around the radio and yelled an indistinguishable greeting as Goofy and Donald desperately tried to break their way in.

"You--oh..." Leon said, suddenly turning his eyes up to Sora. "She explained already?"

A pause. Sora leapt down and cocked an eyebrow nervously.

"...sure," Yuffie said, grinning and wiping away the tears that had escaped. "One sec."

She tore the headphones with some difficulty off her and Leon's head, and the swordsman immediately rubbed at the spot Yuffie had knocked into with her head trying to hear next to him.

"Someone wants to talk to you, Sora," she said, a sly smile on her lips as she passed them to him.

He looked bemusedly at her, trying to stem the hope now welling up somewhere deep inside him from flooding over. Maybe, just maybe...

Sora shoved the earphones onto his head, his brunette spikes mussing and standing up from static. "Sora to shelter, over," he said, closing his eyes.

"Sora?"

His eyes popped open.

"KAIRI!" he nearly shouted. "Kairi, is that you?"

"It's me," she cried joyfully. Her voice was slightly scratchy from the poor reception, but there was no mistaking it. "Sora--I--"

"Are you all right?" he asked urgently, his voice rising with emotion. "I--I can't believe I--"

"Don't worry," she assured him. "I'm fine, Sora--it wasn't your fault, not at all."

He exhaled forcefully, realizing how flush his face had become. He covered his brow with one hand, feeling the heat rise through his fingers. "I'm sorry," he said quietly, uncomfortably aware of Yuffie watching him with fascination.

"Don't," the voice came, cracking slightly. "Sora--I'll see you when we get there, okay?"

"Right," he said, smiling. "Be careful...and...say hi to Cloud and Aerith for me."

She laughed, a clear sound that carried through the staticky speakers. "I promise."

Sora did not move, make any attempt to cut off, simply listened...waiting for her to maybe say more. He was entranced by the mere sound--

"Cloud speaking, over," a gruff young voice said suddenly. "We're coming back."

There was some slight happiness coming across in his voice, something Sora had never heard before. But his own voice had caught in his throat.

"Right--shelter, over and out."

Sora grinned.

"Acknowledged. Over and out."

--------------------------------------------------------

Yay! I like happy endings to chapters. They make the cliffhanger somewhat easier to deal with.

Now, go to it! Reviews, please! Thank you!


	21. End of the Tunnel

Riku: Grr.  
Per: Uh oh. Are you guys mad at me again?  
Kairi: Gosh, Per, it took you three months to update!  
Per: Did not!  
Sora: You posted chapter 20 on the fourth of July.  
Per: Yeah...wait, crap.  
Riku: Mmhmm. That's what I thought.  
Per: Wah, but I've been working hard on it! I wrote lots of chapters ahead!  
Kairi: Like what?  
Per: Like Roxas and DiZ and...oh yeah, King Mickey, and fluff--  
Riku: -cough-  
Per: Did I say fluff? I meant, uh...  
Sora: What's fluff?  
Kairi: Well...er...  
Per: -nervous laugh-

Don't kill me! This fic has just been thrown for a loop. I got the biggest hit of inspiration EVER at the end of the last chapter, and I spent these last two months having a life and plotting out this story on the side. You guys are in for some huge plot twists...yes, there are more coming, even if you're already seasick from how many I've thrown at you already.

Also, TTIF now has a website. Since the site doesn't allow me to post the link to the site here, in the chapter's author's note, type freewebs dot com in your address bar and then make a slash. Then after the slash, type "thistimeillfight". The links do not work yet, but the homepage is up. Also, you can make another slash beside "thistimeillfight" and type "characters dot htm" beside it. Note, it is "htm" and not "html". Enjoy the character bios! More of the site will be up soon.

Please be sure to PM me with links to any fanart, if you choose to make some. I already have one or two submissions for the site. Thanks everyone. You all rock SO hard, I love you all. Enjoy chapter 21.

------------------

Chapter 21: End of the Tunnel

"I hardly expected visitors at such a late hour. Do come in. May I inquire as to the occasion?"

The short and stout figure pushed his way past his host, pulling his hood off with apparent impatience.

"This isn't the time for jokin', DiZ. We've got trouble."

"Oh? Surely our messenger hasn't failed in her plan, your Majesty?"

"No, no, nothing like that," King Mickey said, as DiZ ushered him farther into the hall they stood in. "In fact, I've already heard from Riku that it all went smoothly."

The tall, crimson-clad man pushed open a heavy wooden door in the left wall of the foyer, gesturing the mouse king to step inside. He shut the door and bolted it, black-gloved fingers working deftly despite the heavy padlock.

Mickey's eyes swept the room quickly, a small frown tilting his face. Tall, masterfully stained windows lined the west wall, and dark wood paneling surrounded the room and covered the ceiling as well. All looked as it should, except for the fact that the long dining room table was in pieces: its two ends faced each other, but were fallen on their sides. The splintered center lay in two between the sharded edges of the two ends. It was as if the ceiling had caved in upon it and then righted itself again; it was beyond repair.

DiZ motioned the King to a high-backed chair beside the table's ruin, as it stood in the window's glare, unscathed from whatever catastrophe had destroyed the centerpiece of the dining room. He sat down in his own, across the way, his amber eye glinting in anticipation.

"Tell me what's happened, my friend."

"Listen, DiZ, I don't think I even have enough time to tell you all of it before we go and do something about it. It's about the Islands," Mickey said, not sitting down, but resting his hand on the armrest of the chair. "They're back."

"They are not cloaked anymore?" DiZ said, sitting up, alarm evident for the first time in his voice. "Visible?"

"That's right," Mickey said, looking sorrowful, his high-pitched and cheerful voice strained. "Which means...I don't think Leon and the others got my letter in time. Once I'd figured out which Princess those records were talking about, I could've cut off my own tail, I felt so foolish. But it's too late for that."

"Foolish?" DiZ repeated. "How could you have known, my King?"

"Riku introduced me to Kairi over in Beast's castle," Mickey said, rubbing worriedly at his brow. "I knew she was one of the Princesses, but I had no idea she was THAT Princess. It all cleared up too late."

"So the Guardian is missing, then," DiZ said, folding his hands. "And the Islands vulnerable. Where do you think this Kairi could be?"

"That's just it," Mickey said, looking up and biting his lip. "I...I don't know."

"Your Majesty, you underestimate yourself and me," DiZ said quietly. "I happen to know where to fill in the blanks in your story."

"You mean...!"

"Yes. Kairi is in Hollow Bastion."

Mickey paled considerably, his gloved hand gripping the armrest of the chair. "What? No...no!"

"I assure you...this was not mere chance, that brought Kairi to the Bastion. I knew."

"You knew about this? You..."

"King Mickey, my friend," DiZ said sharply, standing up suddenly. "Do you not trust me? I see the fear in your eyes. It does not set me at ease."

"Well, gosh, you know I do, DiZ," Mickey said, frowning, panic evident in his round face. "But...what in the worlds have you done?"

"Done?" the crimson-clad man said quietly. "I have set the board in motion."

Mickey opened his mouth to speak, considered, then closed it again.

"DiZ...what's going on?"

He watched as the tall figure sat back down in his chair, situating himself as comfortably as he could, choosing his words carefully.

"Namine went to the Bastion to deliver your message, as you know. She also saw to it that the Order retreated, as planned. But...I neglected to tell you the manner in which she drew Organization XIII away," DiZ began quietly, his unmasked eye closed. "Namine implanted false memories in the minds of three certain persons who reside in the castle--a certain Squall Leonhart, Yuffie Kisaragi, and Cid Highwind. She implanted a memory of my own device in which two of their companions, one being the Muse, Aerith Gainsborough, went missing…presumed dead. This twisting of their minds caused them to call for assistance--in the form of the Keyblade Master. With him, I'm sure, came his companion...Kairi, the Princess of Heart."

"Gosh," Mickey said, wide-eyed, sinking into the chair. "She implanted a lie? But...the Muse went into hiding, as planned, didn't she? Aerith is safe?"

"Indeed, yes. That is all taken care of. As I was saying...Namine did not arrive alone. Roxas traveled with her, and they split off when they reached the heights of the Falls. Namine took refuge in the Waterway while Roxas deliberately prowled the castle's lowest levels until he was caught. He has been accepted into the ranks of the Order as number thirteen, the Key of Destiny," DiZ continued, ignoring Mickey's sudden gasp. "Sora and Kairi arrived soon after, and Axel ordered Roxas and Riku to capture the Princess, as soon as he was alerted she had arrived, as we planned. The Organization, most likely, is waiting for Roxas to deliver the Princess to them."

"Oh no!" Mickey said, looking distraught beyond words. "Kairi...will Kairi be all right?"

"Your Majesty, are you unaware of the fact," DiZ interjected. "...that Axel has turned traitor on his own men?"

Mickey looked stunned. "Axel's in on your plans?"

"Yes," DiZ replied. "So as to Kairi's safety, we needn't worry about that."

"Well, gosh...that's a relief," Mickey said, taking a deep breath. "But...the Door. What about the Door?"

"Yes...as for the news you have brought me this moment..." DiZ said, looking at the floor. "My friend, I am afraid I have made a grave mistake."

-------------------------------------------------------------

"C'mon, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Kairi looked almost crazed with happiness, bouncing on the balls of her feet while holding the back of a large armchair beneath the window.

"Calm down, Kairi," Aerith smiled, putting both hands on the girl's shoulders from behind. "We have to strategize a little bit. It would definitely not be a good idea for us to just run across the great maw. It's miles to the Falls."

"So where do you suppose we go?" Cloud asked, folding his arms and looking dubious.

"Well...there has to be an easier way than hiking to get back to the castle," Aerith said. "I mean, Ansem wasn't exactly getting any younger when he used to come out here, was he?"

"What's that door for, anyway?" Kairi asked, pointing at the outcropping in one wall with the heavy wooden door set into it, that she'd seen when they came in.

"Not sure," Cloud replied, shuffling his feet. "It's padlocked shut. The keyhole's too huge for anything we found in the stuff here."

Kairi was already standing at it, crouching and peering through the keyhole.

"Hey, there's light coming from in there!"

"We know," Aerith said. "We weren't sure whether to try and break down the door or not. It seemed a little suspicious."

Kairi traced a finger around the oddly shaped keyhole, a sudden thought gripping her. Her heart pounding furiously, she unsheathed her sword.

"...Kairi?"

She turned the blade to face downward, her fingers running feverishly over the hilt, searching. Finally she found it, as she had by accident on the Islands when she was fiddling with it, and with a small grunt of exertion, swung the large green stone that graced the end off of the hilt on a hinge. Underneath was a strange embossment in the shape of a fleur de lis, standing an inch tall out of the top of the handle.

"I think I found your key."

Lifting the sword, she plunged the end of its hilt into the keyhole, and to her hopeful surprise, it caught. She turned it carefully to the right, and a satisfying clink of gears told her it had worked.

Aerith let out a startled cry, nearly laughing. "Kairi...that sword...I had no idea that was the same one."

Kairi stood up, a little dazed by the simplicity of what she'd just done. "...same one?"

"The gatewarden," Aerith said in amazement. "Leon found you the sword of the gatewarden."

"Gatewarden?" the girl repeated, frowning. "Who's that?"

"The former gatekeeper of the castle. Only she had access to such things, though no one ever saw her carry a key. I bet Leon had no idea," Aerith said, stepping toward the doorway with staff in hand. "It's a good thing they didn't lose that in the attack. Someone must be looking out for us."

Kairi looked down at her sword, dumbstruck.

"Well, go ahead," Cloud said impatiently. "Open it."

Kairi looked at the door, seeing no apparent handle. She tentatively pushed at the wooden surface, and found it gave in under her small weight. It swung inward, nothing but darkness on the other side, along with the eerie glimmer of light some ways away.

Cloud was already in motion, pulling a flashlight from the black bag he'd slung over his back. He fumbled with the button, but suddenly the cavern was illuminated with light. Aerith and Kairi stared.

"Brilliant," he muttered. "It's a lift stop."

Kairi and Aerith followed him in as he strode forward, stepping carefully under the cobwebs that were stretched across the inner frame of the doorway. A stone-carven path led the way to a rusty-looking lift, its crystal giving off a flickering glow. Aerith closed the door carefully behind them, Kairi locking it with her sword before snapping the stone hilt-end back in place.

"Are you sure this thing is safe?" Aerith asked concernedly, appraising the lift's rusting frame with a doubtful eye.

"Do we really have a choice?" Cloud said, suddenly turning to the two young women with the flashlight under his chin. He gave a rare grin as ghastly shadows cast themselves over his face in the glow of the torch in his hand. Kairi, who hadn't turned around yet from locking the door, suddenly glanced at him and yelped in fright.

Cloud and Aerith's laughter rang through the darkened cavern as Kairi grinned sheepishly, allowing Aerith to guide her onto the lift as she tried to slow her spiked heartbeat. They stood near the center, Cloud stepping out to kick at the malfunctioning crystal, letting the lift sputter to life.

"So...you read the letter, Kairi," Aerith said smiling, as the lift began to move beneath their feet, the darkness on all sides a bit disorienting. "It sounds like we're cousins. I feel horrible I never knew about it before, but it was a rather unfortunate set of circumstances."

"You didn't even know when I still lived here?" Kairi asked.

"Unfortunately, no. My birth mother died when I was only a few weeks old. I was brought up by another citizen of the castle, Elmyra Gainsborough. I suppose your father--"

"My father?" Kairi asked suddenly, eyes widening.

"Yes. He was so distraught when his sister died--I think someone told me her name was Ifalna--he hardly ever spoke of her again, even to me. As far as I knew, Elmyra was my mother, for a few years at least. We found some old records and journals in the study back there...and then Mickey apparently found some elsewhere, too."

"My father...you knew him?" Kairi asked, her eyes wide.

"Yes," Aerith said, smiling. "And your mother, too. They were...wonderful."

"What were they like?" Kairi asked, eyes lit up with excitement.

"Your mother gave you your red hair," Aerith said, cocking her head as if scrutinizing the younger girl. "But the eyes...straight from your dad. I don't remember much, it was so long ago. All I remember was one time running into your poor mom by accident when we were playing together--all of us."

"I wish I could remember," Kairi said in frustration. "Yuffie keeps telling me all these stories about the stuff we used to do around the castle, but I was so little--"

"It's true, you were very young, but you held your own with the rest of us," Aerith teased. "Even Leon didn't mind having a five-year-old running around behind us. He was sixteen then, sure, but you were pretty tough for a girl your age."

"I...I know I should remember, but I don't," Kairi mumbled, looking at the ground.

"Don't worry. Those kind of memories might be forgotten, but they're not lost."

She gave a small smile.

"I do remember my grandmother, though," Kairi said suddenly, her head snapping up. "When I was really little, we used to sit in the library together, and she'd tell me stories. I had almost forgotten until Namine reminded me. She told me one story about when the darkness first came into the worlds...and it sounds like that's the story you have to figure out, too."

_A light...at the end of the tunnel!_

_Oh...your grandmother's story, right?_

_That's right...we were together._

---------------------------------------------------------------

"Sora, relax. Come sit down or something."

The teenager looked around with eyebrows raised, his right sneaker stopping its feverish tapping.

"Huh?"

"You wanna make yourself sick worrying?" Yuffie asked, putting her hands on her hips. "It'll take them a little while to get here. Just chill!"

Sora glanced once more at the door he stood at, the one that led from the entrance hall into the library where they now sat. Reluctantly unfolding his arms, he meandered over toward the towering golden glass windows, where his friends sat in bored impatience.

"How far is it to the shelter, anyway?" Sora asked, plopping down onto the bottom step of the staircase. "I had no idea this world was so huge."

"It's around two miles from the Falls, out in the mountain plains," Leon responded. "There's an abandoned town there, where most of the world's people used to live. We happened to have family that grew up in the castle, so we lived here for the most part. The shelter was there in case any trouble came up."

Sora nodded, staring silently at the ground for a moment. But Leon saw the tension in his shoulders, the way his fingers were drumming on the carpeted stair.

"What--"

"--'s taking them so long? Geez, Sora, th--"

"No, that's not what I meant," he said quickly to Yuffie, who looked somewhat sheepish. "I mean...what happened to Namine?"

Leon frowned. No one had seen the slight girl since Kairi had been abducted.

"That's...a very good question."

"Of course it is. And the answer's even better."

Sora looked up, astonished, as he saw a cloaked figure leaning against a bookcase some ways away. It looked totally relaxed, the hood pulled up over the wearer's head and only a grinning mouth and pale visage could be seen under the deep shadows.

"You..."

Sora stood up, his Keyblade suddenly in hand as Leon, Yuffie, Cid, Donald, and Goofy did the same.

"Hey, hey," the man said, standing up straight and putting his hands up in mock defeat. "Hold up. I come in peace."

Leon did not look convinced. Yuffie cried out and ducked involuntarily as a whistling crack pierced the air; Leon had fired a warning shot from his Gunblade past the person's face. It hit a stack of books in a spray of singed paper and falling hardbacks.

"That means you too, pretty boy. I didn't come here to fight."

"Sure," Sora said, his teeth gritted. "None of you ever 'come' to fight, but you do it anyway."

"Now, is that the way to treat an old friend, Sora?" came the sardonic voice. The boy's breath caught as the figure reached up with a gloved hand to pull the hood off. A shock of red hair sticking up in all directions sprung back up as the leather slid off; a pair of startlingly green eyes turned on him.

"Old friend?" Sora asked confusedly, but he was still glaring. "I've only seen you once in my life, and you were unconscious. Real great first impression."

"Ouch," the man said, clutching his chest as if wounded. "That's hitting below the belt, Keyblade master. See, we've met before. Twice, actually. And we more than talked."

Donald and Goofy were beside Sora now, looks of extreme dislike on their normally pleasant features.

"I'm one of those things that's...oh, slipped away with time, I guess," the man said, shrugging, but a wolfish grin still playing on his lips. "Namine's to blame for that one. Can't take credit for it."

"Namine?" Sora repeated. "Then…I met you in Castle Oblivion...?"

"Bingo," the man said, looking genuinely pleased now, his green eyes dancing. "The name's Axel. Got it memorized?"

"Now I do," Sora said, his expression easing only the slightest bit. "But...you know where Namine is?"

"'Course. Little Blondie's with me. She bailed after number thirteen nabbed your lady friend."

Sora's scowl deepened. "Well, 'number thirteen' didn't do such a good job. Kairi's safe. She's coming back."

"I know that."

Yuffie couldn't suppress a surprised gasp.

"You--you know?" Sora asked, his voice betraying more than he'd intended.

"Organization XIII will know, too, if you don't listen to exactly what I'm saying right now," Axel said, his tone suddenly urgent. "You need to get out of here, Sora. Now."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Leon growled. "This is our world. We'll stand for it until there's nothing left to protect."

"It's not the world they want, pretty boy," Axel said, advancing, but seeming to think better of it. "If you know what's good for you, you'll abandon ship and cry over it later."

"You're one of them! Why should we listen to you?" Yuffie said, her voice hysterical. Her shuriken was in hand, trembling as badly as her hand was.

"Traverse Town," Axel said, ignoring the ninja. "You go there, and they might not be able to sniff you out for a while."

Sora said nothing; he stared searchingly at the thin man before him.

"And as for the Order and me…we have our differences," Axel muttered.

"Why should we listen to you?" Donald squawked, his temper getting the better of him. "Leon worked hard to get Hollow Bastion back to normal."

"This may sound clichéd," Axel said, crossing his arms. "But think of it as a leap of blind faith. I think you'll find your heart will tell you what to believe."

Sora looked utterly lost now.

"Besides, Riku doesn't want you in harm's way, either."

The teenager's head snapped up, and he let out a startled cry. "Riku! He's with you?"

"Traverse Town, Sora," Axel said, his eyes now pleading and all spark of malice gone as he stepped into a shimmering portal of darkness behind him. "You're running out of time."

------------------------------

Oooh, yes, I know I'm evil. Sorry. Cliffie. But I haven't given you one in a very long time, so…sorry! XD

Next chapter coming at you very soon. REVIEWS PLEASE!


	22. Wrench in the Gears

_Author's Note:_ Oh geez. I'm not even going to write a script having the characters yell at me, because they probably would've killed me by now for making you guys wait so long. Wah, I'm sorry. Marching band had just started when I last updated, so it hadn't gotten crazy yet. Marching band, producing the first ever _High School Musical_ on a high school stage to test out for Disney, college applications (I already made it into one! YAY!), getting a staff position at and choreographing a kid's show this December caught up with me and I didn't have a moment to write. 

I finally wrote out (yes, believe it) the rest of This Time I'll Fight in outline form. I can guarantee at least ten more chapters, though there may be as many as 17 more after this one. I really hope you guys enjoy, this story has meant a lot to me and I hope it lives up to your expectations.

Know that there will be a sequel. It's in the planning stages and its tentative title is Tatakai no Namida—Tears of Battle. Please look forward to it!

**I will also be revamping old chapters soon**. I will alert you to which chapters have been altered in each new chapter update, please do go back and read if you get the chance! **If you enjoyed the fluff in Chapter 17**, go take a look—I reworked it already and it's even better than ever!

Thank you for being patient with me. Thank you to all my readers/reviewers! Now, presenting Chapter 22!

* * *

Chapter 22: Wrench in the Gears

Forty-six hours. Two less than forty-eight. The darkness was deepening, and neither of its heralds had come.

"Damn it. This was supposed to _work_, Saix. Not go up in flames," Demyx hissed.

"I sincerely hope that wasn't an intentional play on words."

"Now that you mention it, it may as well be."

He stood up slowly, menacingly, from the computer room wall, baring his teeth as the ninth-in-command crossed his arms. Demyx didn't flinch.

"You were supposed to prevent this," he hissed. "Why do you think we sent you to Fabled Countryside, to make _moatwater dance_? You were supposed to investigate the conspiracy. You were to ensure something like that didn't repeat itself."

"Take a chill pill, blue-boy," Xigbar said lazily, one boot resting on a keypad as he reloaded one of his revolvers. "The conspiracy in Castle Oblivion ain't got nothing to do with this. Axel hasn't got it in for _us_. Though you gotta wonder…"

"Two hours, and they should be over that threshold. And if DiZ interferes, so help me, I'll ensure he doesn't act as doorwarden any longer."

"Xaldin is such an idiot he lost track of the princess, don't you remember?" Demyx pressed. "Who does that? What was I supposed to do?"

"The Princesses are a last resort, you nitwit," Saix murmured. "A childish brat with a Keyblade and a few pathetic comrades, we can handle. The wrath of all the worlds combined, certainly not."

"You mean--"

"He retreated purposefully. If we have further need for any of them, we have only to call upon our Keyblade master."

"Spiky-head?" Xigbar asked dubiously, firing a test shot into the floor. It ricocheted harmlessly off the tempered steel and clattered away.

"Not the real Keyblade master, _ours_. No one could turn away Roxas. Why, he even _looks_ like our dear Sora."

Demyx snorted.

"If you want to be useful, you will retreat to headquarters on the other side and wait. If DiZ does not alert you to their return in two hours, you are to await instruction," Saix ordered, standing up.

"What about me?" Xigbar slurred, failing to stifle a yawn.

"You," Saix said. "Are to rid us of our traitor. Quick and clean. Leave the boy be."

"Excellent," Xigbar said, standing up, a mad grin twisting his scarred visage. "I always wanted to be the double-O."

----------------

_Connecting…identity verified. Please hold._

"…_DiZ?"_

"…"

"_Hey!…Hey, Red, pick up!"_

"_Oh, these headphones…"_

"_Uh, this is DiZ, right?"_

"_This is he. Is this young master thirteen?"_

"…_uh, yeah, sure."_

"_DiZ, I told the kid. Sora. But his buddies are those damn stoic types, my idea ain't gonna fly."_

"_I feared it would be so. That is why I have new instructions for you."_

"_Is this going to be legal in any way?"_

"_Roxas, you're in the Organization. Deal with it."_

"_Beneath the castle, on the east wing, you'll find a small hangar. Inside are two ships, the Highwind and the Shera. You are to set off the alarm, hijack the Shera, and get offworld before the others arrive."_

"_Uh…"_

"_What the hell will _that_ do?"_

"_Your forty-eight hours are up, men. It is only a matter of time before XIII will deploy to the worlds in search of you and the Princess."_

"_But how's stealing a ship going to get them offworld?"_

"_Once the Nobodies arrive, it is certain that the Keyblade master and his friends will attempt to flee. If they have only one ship, there is no possibility that Hollow Bastion's young master can stay behind."_

"_Young master?"_

"_You must remember, I once lived upon that world. One Squall Leonhart, if my time with him serves me properly, would sooner send Sora off in his own ship with the promise of following close behind, and once he was out of sight, remain on the world with some hopeless notion of saving it from an eclipse."_

"_Are you serious?"_

"_Damn heroics…" _

"We must ensure that all...and I do mean all...of them are safely off Hollow Bastion before we can breathe easy again. Am I clear?"

_"Yes, sir."_

"Another problem is at hand, however. The Princess and the Muse should be en route back to the castle. Have you any idea how far they've gotten?"

"_No…no."_

"_Axel, what if…Riku…?"_

"_Riku is with you, or am I mistaken?"_

"_He's nearby, yeah."_

"_It is settled. Send him to find the three last persons, and then you are to pick them up using any methods necessary and get them to Traverse Town. Hopefully Riku can convince Kairi of some excuse."_

"_DiZ, you know you're insane, right?"_

_A laugh._

"_I am well aware of that fact."_

"_DiZ…"_

"_Yes, Roxas?"_

_"...uh...nothing."_

_----------_

"Is too!"

"No way, man!"

"You've been playing for years."

"Agh. Olette! Do you get the higher points if you're on the line?"

"Er, I think so."

The blonde boy crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine, Pence, you win this one."

"Of course. You're talking to the master. I beat Roxas two weeks ago."

Olette sniggered. "Yeah, only after you lost to him about six times. Plus, he still had brainfreeze. He couldn't see straight, he was busy clutching his head."

"Hey, hey, hey," Pence said, putting his hands up. "Not my fault if he wanted to scarf all that ice cream between games. It's his loss."

"Hayner!" Olette cried suddenly, standing up. "What are you doing?"

Hayner turned around quickly, his brown eyes round. "Huh?"

Olette pointed at the dartboard accusingly, putting her other hand on her hip. "You just moved your dart over the line. Now, I know you hate to lose, but that's just stupid." She looked sternly at him, her motherlike facade firmly in place.

Hayner put his hands up in defeat, dropping onto the couch. "Fine, fine, whatever."

The Usual Spot was noisier than usual today. The trains seemed to be coming in every two minutes, and with them crowds whose footsteps echoed through the boards that ran beneath the station's tracks. Dust fell occasionally through the cracks and onto the concrete floor, quickly dirtying the roughly woven rug they'd thrown there when they marked their territory in the alley.

"Speaking of Roxas...I wonder what's taking him so long."

Olette shook her head. "I went to his building in the terrace. The landlord said no one's been in that room since he left. He said something funny, though...Roxas didn't take any of his clothes with him."

"That's weird," Hayner said. "So he's going to stay in the same pants for however long? Man, he's gonna REEK when he gets back..."

"That would be the first thing you'd think of," Pence said, rolling his eyes. "But that's definitely...not like him."

"I'm worried," Olette said, crossing her arms. The two boys looked uncomfortably at the floor.

"Oh, come on, no point worrying over nothing," Hayner said, standing up suddenly. "I mean...no news is good news, right? We would've heard something by now. C'mon, Olette, I'll get us some ice cream and we'll ask around..."

He took Olette by the wrist and pulled her along with him as he strode through the cloth curtain, out into the back alley, and through the gate. Pence trailed behind, fishing around in his pocket for what munny he had left after their recent trip to the beach.

"Nothing like a--whoa!"

Hayner skidded to a stop, letting go of Olette's arm as he nearly walked straight into a short figure hurrying by them on Market Street.

"S-sorry!" Olette exclaimed. The figure looked up at them, his visage concealed under a black hood. He pushed it back with a gloved hand.

"No harm done!" he said cheerfully. Pence gaped. The person had the countenance of a mouse, two large ears atop his head and a thin tail whipping about under what appeared to be a heavy leather coat with a large zipper. He'd only seen a person like this once before--

"Uh...sir," he said, clearing his throat as Olette busily dusted Hayner off; he'd stumbled trying not to run into the stranger. "Do you...I mean...do you know a person named Sora?"

The figure's face brightened. "Yup, sure do. Are you friends of his?"

"Sora?" Hayner said, scratching his head. "You mean you know him and those two guys he has running around with him?"

"He came just a little while ago...it can't have been more than a couple weeks," Olette said eagerly. "I thought you looked familiar...we'd never seen people like Donald and Goofy before."

"Gosh," he said, crossing his arms. "Well, to tell you the truth, there's a lotta stuff that's happened since...oh, almost forgot. My name's Mickey, Mickey Mouse. I, uh...I happen to be the King on my homeworld, and those two fellas are good friends of mine..."

Pence looked at Olette uncertainly.

"Um...your...your Majesty, then...what's been going on? Why are you here in Twilight Town?"

Mickey sighed. "Well, y'see...there's something going on with the worlds that ain't exactly a piece of cake to figure out. That's why people are movin' so much, coming into the town...in a few hours, big things are going to happen with Sora and all of us and if we don't..."

He looked up.

"Listen, I haven't exactly been honest. I've known about you four for a long time now--"

"--four? Even Roxas?"

"Especially Roxas. He's all wrapped up in this, just as much as I am," Mickey said quite seriously, his high-pitched voice strained. "I was just on my way back to my ship from a meeting with someone nearby. I didn't wanna worry you fellas, but since we've bumped into each other like this..."

"You mean you know where Roxas is?" Hayner asked, raising his eyebrows. "He's been gone for at least three days now!"

"Roxas...is..." Mickey said, struggling to find words. "He'll be all right. It's good I ran into you three, maybe there's some way we can get things under control..."

Olette looked from Hayner to Pence.

"You can tell us everything, your Majesty."

_--------------_

"On three. One, two, three..."

_GONK._

"Ow, dammit!"

"You said on three!"

"Yes, three, not one after three. We call that _four_, Roxas."

Axel rubbed his brow irritably, feeling a slight bump along his hairline beginning to rise. Roxas watched uneasily, grasping a crowbar in his right hand.

"All right, again," Axel griped, grasping the crowbar beneath Roxas' fists. "On _three_. One, two..."

The hatch above them swung down so fast, both shouted and dropped from the ladder onto the level beneath. Dust spilled in from the room above and into their hair and coats, but dim light filtered in from the cockpit.

"All right," the redhead drawled, regrasping the ladder and climbing up into the upper chamber. Roxas pulled himself up behind him.

Axel sat in the left pilot seat, gloved hands hovering uncertainly over the broad dashboard.

"Right...talk about blank with a capital 'B'." He swore under his breath.

"Huh?"

"I have no idea where to start," Axel said flatly, tentatively bringing his hands down to the steering.

Roxas felt along the wall, suddenly feeling a switch under his fingers. Gritting his teeth, he flipped it.

Utter darkness. "Whoops."

"Yeah, don't touch anything from now on, kid."

Roxas tried the switch again. Nothing.

"Uh, can you fix that? I can't see--"

"It's stuck!"

"Screw this..." Axel muttered, plucking the radio from a holster on his boot. "DiZ, how are we supposed to get this thing off the ground?"

"I should think that's obvious. Don't you remember who you have with you?"

"Roxas?" Axel said dubiously, cocking an eyebrow. Roxas looked blankly at him in the darkness.

"I am a fool..." DiZ muttered. "I would have thought that you'd know a gummi ship is made of the material the world borders are comprised of. Why, if you don't have the ship's key, you needn't look much farther for another one."

"No shit," Axel said. "You could have told us to use the Keyblade _before_ Blondie here killed the power."

"I wish you luck," DiZ said, an edge of stiffness on his voice. Axel clicked it off, annoyed.

"Well, come on, you heard him."

Roxas shuffled over, having found the catch in the switch and brought the lights back on. He sheepishly stared at the keyhole in the ship's ignition.

"Axel..." he said nervously. "You sure you know how to fly this thing?"

"Kid..." Axel said, suddenly clapping Roxas on the shoulder. "I'm gonna teach you the art of the diversion if it's the last thing I do. And it probably will be."

"...diversion?" Roxas asked petulantly.

"As in...we do whatever the hell we need to, and get this thing off the ground, and _then_ we worry about what happens to our own skins. With me?"

"If you say so."

"Terrific. Now, do your thing."

Roxas shook his head, and summoned and lifted Oblivion to point toward the dashboard. Nothing happened for a moment, but soon a low, comforting rumble sounded beneath them.

Axel shook his head, giving a low whistle.

"Well, hey, look out. Here come the two worst damn pilots the worlds've ever seen. Sit down at the other one, kid, I think that's the co-pilot steering…"

Roxas swallowed hard, then sat stiffly down in the seat opposite Axel's. He carefully unzipped his Organization jacket and threw it into the back of the cabin, flattening his perspiration-soaked white jacket with his hands.

"You've never done anything like this before, Axel?"

The redhead busily tried to get a pair of headphones on his head, the mouthpiece between his teeth. He spoke through it.

"I've been traveling with portals the whole time I've existed," he said, finally flattening his spiked red hair enough to have the headphones sit relatively comfortably on his head. "Most I've done is screwed around with Vexen's computer in Castle Oblivion."

"I've…gone go-karting near the beach, in Twilight Town," Roxas mumbled.

"Well, it's a start," Axel quipped. "Uh…okay, we've got a gas and brake pedal…steering…what's all this other stuff for?"

Roxas stared blankly at the dashboard. "Float-g…?"

"Sounds good to me," Axel said, cocking an eyebrow. "Phew…I'm too young to die, I swear to God…"

"Landing gear!" Roxas suddenly exclaimed. "Okay, so if we lower that, maybe we can back out of here…"

He rammed the button with two knuckles, and the ship bucked with such a violent drop that Roxas and Axel both shouted and white-knuckled the steering. The ship settled, but the two sat stock-still, trying to still the adrenaline racing through their veins.

"Okay," Axel gasped for breath. "Let's, uh…let's just back this out, nice and easy…"

Without really knowing how they'd gotten there, Roxas looked down out of the ship and found their landing gear scraping along gravel. The midday sun glared through the dome. Axel squinted up into it.

"Do we really have to fly this thing up…?"

"I don't see any other choice," Roxas said, looking at the redhead. "We're never going to see Riku and the others unless we're in the air."

Axel swallowed uneasily. Roxas marveled; it was the first time he'd seen the cocky Nobody lose his nerve for a moment.

"Hold on tight…" he said through gritted teeth, switching gears until the Float-G clicked into place. With painful slowness, he lifted his black boot off the pedal…

-----------

AAH! It feels so good to finally have that up there. Hold on tight for the next chapter, this one was a bit of a filler. REVIEWS WELCOME!


	23. The Approach

Oh, you know what, I should just come out and say it. I'm the most awful, torturous authoress on the web. Or possibly on the planet.

Sorry I kept you all waiting, once again. This is the one part of my story that I've been sort of stuck on with logistics and locations and technical mumbo-jumbo, because all the characters are running amok and getting lost and I still don't know where the heck half of them ARE at this point. I'm going to have to ask Riku where he's been all this time, because frankly, I don't even know. Plus, I decided we gotta get back into the Disney aspect, since that was the original intent.

I wrote my college entrance essays on this exact subject: my story's gotten so deep and intense that the characters have gone off on their own and started writing their story themselves. All I have to do is document it. -- Sheesh.

Speaking of which, I have officially made it into all of the colleges I applied to, along with scholarships from three of them. YAY! …I'll stop rambling now. Enjoy Chapter 23!

* * *

Chapter 23: The Approach

The Coliseum had never seen such a crowd.

"Herc!" a brash voice lifted over the din of the packed courtyard. "Kid! Where are ya?"

The satyr parted the crowd despite his short height, weaving his way through the various legs, swords, and lack thereof swarming the front steps of the coliseum.

"Over here, Phil!"

Philoctetes stopped abruptly as a thin arm suddenly wrapped itself around his stubby neck, yanking him to the side and out of the way of a monstrously huge competitor wielding a mace. He spluttered as he came out of the crowd's shadow, beneath the feet of one massive statue holding up the facade of the arena.

"Tut, Phil-schmil, you just can't stay out of trouble, can you?" said the owner of the arm that had saved him, leaning condescendingly over the goat-man.

"I guess I should be thanking you, toots, but I really ain't in the mood right now," he said with a scowl, brushing past her legs to see around her.

"Aw, Phil, just be glad Meg didn't let you get trampled," a bright young man said from the cement block supporting the statue's gleaming boot. He was muscled and tan, his auburn hair held back from his forehead by a thin sweatband. He grinned at the young woman.

"Hercules, it's outta control in there," Phil griped, slouching. "I dunno where all these weirdos are comin' from, but they sure can't ALL get into the games. Half of them don't even look like they got an ounce of fight in them."

"That's why we took shelter over here," Hercules said petulantly. "Hey, you don't think this might have something to do with the outside worlds, do you? When's the last time we really heard what was going on?"

"Well, wasn't it last time Junior was here?" Meg put in, brushing a stray brunette hair out of her face impatiently. "You know, the shorty who came in here with the Keyblade."

"Last time I checked, he was taller than you," Phil said sourly, then let out a defeated groan. "If that's what's up, then I dunno how we're gonna get everybody outta here. If anything bad's happening, they prob'ly don't care where they go, as long as the place is still standing."

"Calm down," Hercules said, putting his hands on his knees and standing up. "If you want, let me handle the world gate for a little bit while you try to get everybody sorted out."

"Sorted out? More like put in big padded rooms..." Meg said, arching an eyebrow at a Yellow Opera contentedly zapping a somewhat spindly man clutching a shield.

"I've got an idea," Hercules said, suddenly scooping Phil up in his two hands as if he were feather-light and lifting him high above his head.

"Kid, what're you doin'? Put me down!" the satyr spluttered.

"Do what you do best. Yell at 'em, Phil!"

Phil sagged, then took an almighty breath.

"Yo! Knuckleheads!"

The crowd's din decreased to a dull roar as they turned to see the spectacle of the fabled godlike hero holding a satyr aloft. The latter was becoming increasingly agitated.

"If you can hear me, then get your tails movin' and please file into the Coliseum in an orderly fashion."

It was as if he'd fired the starting shot of a race, and the noise became almost unbearable as the dust kicked up and the crowd pushed toward the doors of the lobby.

"Well," Phil said, dusting himself off as Hercules put him back down. "That went well."

"I think we've got a casualty," Meg said in a somewhat more interested tone. "You didn't _really_ need that right-hand door, did you?"

The next few moments passed in comfortable pandemonium as the crowd slowly filtered away to a small mob, the din now echoing out of the vast stadium over the roof of the entrance. Hercules stood by the world gate at the opposite end, taking a careful head count as yet more competitors filed in from the Gummi hangar.

"Forty-three, forty-four...if you're looking for a Wild Corps group to join, you might want to try over there, all right?...forty-nine..."

"Yo, who's in charge here?"

Hercules looked away from a small horde of Powerwilds and one intensely uncomfortable warrior in a coat of armor toward the source of the voice.

"Sorry to keep you from your job or whatever, but I got a few questions."

Hercules raised an eyebrow. The person was entirely clad in a black leather coat, hood pulled up to mask his face. He could barely make out his grinning mouth. He had no apparent weapon on him.

"Sorry, sir, but you really have to keep moving so we can get everybody in," Hercules said, distracted.

"I don't really care about the games, man," persisted the cloaked man. "Can I park it here for a little while? I'm waiting for a couple of buddies of mine, and we've got some...important business to deal with."

Slightly annoyed now, Hercules turned back to the black visage with the grinning lips. "Look, we really don't have any extra room if you're not here for the games. If you want to rendezvous, you're gonna have to try some other place. We're packed."

"Oh, is that the problem? No worries. I can clear that right up for you."

He snapped his fingers, and instantly a cloud of darkness appeared behind him. Out of it came--

"Yo! No magic outside the arena, pal!" Phil near-shouted, finally making his way through the crowd moving in the other direction. "You better take this outside, or--"

Shouts erupted across the courtyard as a group of vagabond soldiers suddenly hit the ground in a writhing mass of utter blackness. Hercules barely ducked before--something--swiped at the crown of his head. He whipped around, looking up at a flash of silver and white darting around the air directly above him.

"What...ARE these things?" Hercules shouted as the crowd suddenly exploded to every corner of the courtyard, scattering from a horde of white demons that had appeared from apparently nowhere.

"Kid!" Phil shouted, clear panic in his voice. "Kid, help me out here!"

Hercules ducked as the noise rose to a deafening level, thunder spells and blasts of light being fired in all directions from the mob. The courtyard was being turned quickly into a massive battlefield. He threw himself to the ground, weaving through the tangled legs and warring entities to grab Phil by the scruff of his neck and yank him out of the bulk of the mess.

"What in the Underworld is going on here?!" a female voice shouted, and Hercules became of Megara throwing herself into the dust beside him, covering her head.

Hercules shook his head, the now-mortal pandemonium reigning all around as the white menaces tore through the crowd like a knife through butter. He threw his head up, looking around frantically for the man in black.

He stood some ways apart, leaning leisurely against one of the scoreboards on the southern wall. He appeared to be polishing a large sniper of some sort. His hood was down, revealing a scarred face with an eyepatch, and grizzly dark hair streaked with grey pulled back into a loose ponytail. He looked up, grinning amiably at Hercules.

"Care to reconsider the offer, or am I just gonna have to kick your asses one by one?"

Hercules growled, scrambling up and dashing toward the stranger, balling his fists.

"Wonderboy!" Meg shouted, reaching after him. Phil suddenly pushed her back down to the ground as a low-riding shuriken flew past their heads.

"C'mon, Meg, get up!"

And they were out of the stampede, the battle still raging fast and furious about them as the crowd began to spill back out of the coliseum to aid in the battle. Meg stared, dumbfounded, at one of the enemies--its long and lithe humanoid body swiveled in a quick circle around a Defender's feet before slicing savagely into its knees. It buckled and gave in, disappearing in a cloud of darkness before a glimmering heart shot up from the spot where he fell, disappearing into the now-darkening sky.

What _were_ they?

Xigbar grinned lazily at the disaster unfolding about him.

"It was a real simple question, you know," he said to Hercules, who now stood shaking with rage watching the scene spiral out of control. "Now, I'll ask you again. Can I park it here for a while?"

Phil was shouting something indistinguishable over the din, spouting off every foul word he knew before he shied away from a Firaga spell that suddenly shot forth from the crowd.

Xigbar snapped his fingers, and Meg looked around in shock as all traces of the white terrors suddenly evaporated into thin air. Momentary silence rang over the battlefield the Coliseum had become.

Hercules looked up at the man, with an uncharacteristic look of pure loathing.

"You can 'park it' outside the door."

"Fine," Xigbar said, again with that despicable amiable tone. He pushed off the wall and lazily strode to the world gate, pushing it open calmly and shutting it behind him.

Phil stood then, as angered chatter slowly filled the courtyard, fallen soldiers and creatures alike littered among the survivors.

"If it ain't something to do with the other worlds, I dunno what it is," he said bleakly, swallowing hard.

Hercules bent over Meg, helping her somewhat unsteadily to her feet.

"I'll go," she said suddenly to Hercules, suddenly grasping his forearm for balance. "Let me go to the outside world. I'll try to find out some answers."

"Answers?" Hercules asked her concernedly. "Meg, you can't go out there by yourself, it's too dangerous!"

"They need you here to keep things under control," she persisted, putting her hands on her hips. "And if that guy gets bored out there and wants to make trouble, they'll need you even more."

He sighed. "What are you planning?"

"I mean...I'll go find the kid. The one with the Keyblade."

"You mean..." Hercules murmured. "Yeah. Go find Sora."

Phil stared at the chaos around him. "I dunno about you, but somethin' tells me that kid is in a little over his head."

……………..

"I'm telling you! I know that sound anywhere," the pilot growled. "How else do you think I was able to catch Princess over here sneaking out to go compete at the Coliseum?"

"Hey!" Yuffie protested, scowling.

"Cid, seriously. None of us heard anything. We can't _all_ be going deaf," Leon intoned, rolling his eyes as he flipped a switch to turn the hallway lights on.

"Yeah, gramps," Sora said half into his hand, grinning at the opportunity to use his old nickname for the pilot. Cid smacked him lightly in the back of the head. "Ow…"

He was glad there was still some levity left in the group. After Axel had disappeared, it had been the first time Sora had seen his friends so silent. To give up their home a second time and return to being vagabonds in the overcrowded town on the edge of the realm of darkness? And to even think they would even consider following a suggestion from one of them…it was absurd, as Leon had so curtly put it.

But something in Axel's eyes had disturbed him—he very nearly believed him. Was Organization XIII really going to come back for them? And Riku…had Axel really seen him?

"Cid, you're being paranoid. I've got the best ears out of all of us and I'd hear your gummi ship putzing along from a mile away," Yuffie said with a cocky jerk of the head. "The exhaust pipe's loud enough to wake the dead, anyway…"

"That's exactly it," the pilot said, leading the group down a damp cellar stairway beneath the castle toward the gummi hangar. "I didn't hear the bang like I usually do, but I heard the alarm earlier. Even if they didn't get the gummi off the ground…sure as hell, somebody tried to break into it."

Leon tossed Cid a set of keys. "Well, make it quick. We have to get up to meet Cloud when he gets here with Aerith and Kairi."

"All right, all right, hang on to your britches," the pilot griped, fumbling with the key ring until he opened a rather moldy door. Fresh air rushed into the dank stairwell, and he pushed through it roughly. Leon started back up the stairs, Yuffie following.

Curious, Sora bent to go through the short doorway, Donald and Goofy following behind him. His stomach dropped as he realized what was missing--

"The bastard!" Cid shouted, running into the center of the cavernous hangar, boots crunching over the compacted layer of dark grey rocks that made up the ground. He stared at the open hatch, the Bastion sun glaring through the exit as he let out a string of profanities.

"Oh no," Sora muttered. "Jeez…"

"Do you think it mighta been Axel?" Goofy wondered aloud, clutching his shield to his side. "But how'd he do it?"

"You can't just make a gummi ship take off by itself," Donald said, his feet slapping against the rocky ground as he walked forward. "You'd need the keys, unless…"

He looked up at Sora.

"Unless you had a Keyblade."

Sora frowned at the duck, crossing his arms. "What are you talking about? I'm the only one, aren't I? Unless you think it was the King…"

"Sure wasn't the King, Sora," Goofy said worriedly. "Even if it were an emergency, he'd drop in to ask first…"

"Then what? Magic?" Sora said, throwing his hands up in bewilderment. "Whatever the case, this can't be good…"

A shout rent the air from outside the hangar. Sora, Donald, and Goofy snapped out of their silent shock and ran toward the open hatch, and out into the open air.

Cid stood shaking with rage, staring up at—

"Whoa!" Sora shouted, eyes going round.

The Shera was off the ground, but was bucking and swerving through the air near the Great Crest as if it was short a wing. It swung in a quick one-eighty turn, before gunning forward and going into a dangerous dip.

"Who the hell's piloting that thing?!" Cid shouted. "Goddamn it, if they were going to hijack the ship, they might as well have learned how to FLY the thing first!"

Sora stared, dumbfounded, as the ship suddenly banked right in midair, going steadily downward until it was in a steady downhill streak, heading at an ever-increasing angle toward the ground.

"What do we do?!" Sora shouted, running to Cid's side and shading his eyes. "It's right there, should we…blast it with magic, or something?"

"No, it'll bounce right off the shields and hit either us or the castle," Cid growled, his eyes frantic. "Just there…it's RIGHT THERE, and if they crash it…"

Sora knew Cid would rather take a room full of Heartless before he let anything bad happen to his ship. He bit his lip, looking frantically around for something—_anything_—he could use…

"DUCK!"

Donald squawked his loudest as all four suddenly threw themselves to the ground—the Shera had lost so much air, it was heading right for them. Sora felt all his hair fly back from his face as the ship flew directly above them, the noise almost deafening. It skimmed the ground behind them about five feet above the gravel, and suddenly lifted back up again, gaining air.

Sora scrambled to his feet, squinting at the windows. "Who is it?"

What he saw nearly made his heart stop.

A pair of clear blue eyes, shadowed under a feathery mop of blonde hair, stared at him for a swift second.

_What--?_

The ship suddenly righted itself. It hovered, too high to even brush the hangar's roof, in midair for a few seconds, utterly still save for the rumble of the motor. Sora's stomach dropped as he saw a hand suddenly extend out the window. The fingers flared, flexing open…

Something slashed the back of Sora's right leg with vicious precision, and he wheeled about, Keyblade materializing before he even had a chance to register the pain. He stumbled backward, eyes widening as his whirling stroke clipped the enemy right over the head.

_Nobodies…_

"What the hell?! What kinda Heartless're these?" he heard Cid shout.

They were surrounded.

"Nobodies," Sora choked. "It must be…it must be Axel."

"Look out!" Goofy shouted as a Samurai Nobody glided over his head. He thrust his shield up over his hat, ducking quickly as its makeshift sword made contact with a shower of sparks. "Let's get out of here!"

Sora leapt quickly out of the way of a swiping Assassin claw as all four turned tail and pelted back for the hangar. He swung his Keyblade at any silver-hued appendage that appeared in his field of vision, set on nothing but getting back inside the castle.

"We gotta leave, right now!" Donald shouted over the din, his quack fierce and almost fearful. "Once Nobodies show up, we…"

He huffed and puffed as they skidded into the coolness of the hangar, the heat of the battle rising off their bodies as they scrambled for the door. Thankfully, it was still open, and all four rushed inside, stumbling onto the steps as Sora shut the door on a persistent Dancer Nobody who had doggedly followed them all the way inside.

_Kairi…_

Sora's heart gave a sudden jolt as he remembered. Would the Nobodies…

"Let's move!" Cid ordered, but they were already halfway up the stairs, praying every moment that the Nobodies wouldn't find a way inside. But they were creatures of darkness, after all…and smarter than Heartless. It was only a matter of time.

Sora drew his gloved hand across his forehead, swallowing hard. He had broken out in a cold sweat. If only he could get to her somehow…had she gotten back to the castle yet?

His heart beat painfully against his palm, as he pressed his hand to his chest to try to calm his nerves.

"Leeeooon!" Goofy yelled as they stumbled out of the cellar stairs, tracking gravel and dirt onto the carpets of the castle's ground floor. "Mister Leon!"

"Hey!" a shout rang through the hallway. Yuffie was running full-speed toward them, panic evident on her face.

"Yuffie, we gotta get away from here," Sora wheezed, still trying to catch his breath. "We have to get away from the hangar. There's…there's…Nobodies down there. Y-you don't want to be anywhere near them."

"Right, whatever, just come on!" she said, grabbing Sora by his jacket sleeve and pelting back down the hallway where she came from.

"What's going on in here, Yuffie?" Cid shouted from the rear. "Did they get here yet?"

"Yeah," she puffed, shouting over the thundering feet as the group followed her up a staircase. "Well, not exactly—we found the spot they're going to be at, though, it turns out a lift stop brings you right back to the second floor from the shelter."

"Yuffie! In front of you!" Donald squawked, waving his staff and preparing a Thunder spell.

"Wha--?"

She skidded to a stop as a black-and-white portal suddenly curled upward from the floor ahead of her. A Dusk slithered out of it in a movement almost too quick to fathom, taking a swipe at her bare knees.

"What is that thing?" she shouted as Sora forced his way past her and briskly took it out with his Keyblade.

"A Nobody," he said quickly. "They're like Heartless, but they're just the left-behind of things that have lost their hearts—a body with only a soul and a mind. They're dangerous, a LOT more dangerous."

"But you--"

Donald tapped the ground anxiously with his staff. "Dusks are nothing. They're the weakest of Nobodies—we saw worse downstairs."

"Yuffie, your leg!" Cid said suddenly.

"Huh?" She looked down at the spot the Dusk had swiped. A four-inch gash ran across the flesh of her thigh, just above her knee. A thin trickle of blood had begun to run into the top of her high-laced boots.

"Augh! No way! That thing gave me this?" She patted at it with two fingers, gingerly, wincing as she did so.

"Sora!"

The Keyblade master looked up as Leon suddenly burst through a door at the end of the hallway, catching up with the small group.

"Leon, we got a problem," Cid grimaced. "That bastard hijacked the Shera. We're stranded."

"No way," the swordsman muttered. "And those weird white things…?"

"Nobodies," Sora replied breathlessly, still winded from the run. "They're…they're getting into the castle. They don't care about the world at all, they—they're looking for us. They're after anything that moves."

Leon stared at the floor, almost unseeing as he thought furiously.

"All right…this is what we do. Donald, Goofy—we still have your ship, right?"

"It's on the Great Crest," Donald responded quickly, remarkably calmly, snapping to attention.

"Okay…we're going to have to leave…a note, or something, right at the exit from the shelter's lift stop—we go up to the Great Crest, get the ship started, and…fly to get Cloud, Aerith, and Kairi at the first floor balcony, right at the top of the Rising Falls. They won't have time to get all the way up to the Crest, we'll just have to speed the trip up."

Sora stared, his stomach tightening in sudden worry, but he bit his lip and nodded curtly.

"Squ—uh, Leon," Yuffie suddenly said, uncharacteristically meek. "Do you…um…think you could…"

She gestured to the gash, which was now bleeding freely. Leon hadn't noticed. He blanched, then without a word, bent and scooped Yuffie into his arms, putting her roughly over his shoulder.

Yuffie was shocked silent for a second, then said brightly, "Gee, Leon, you're a smart one."

……………..

"_He saw me…he saw me!" Roxas said, a panicked look on his young face. "Axel, he looked straight at me!"_

"_Roxas!" the older man barked, ignoring the outburst. "Drive!"_

_Roxas swallowed hard, but obeyed quickly, moving his eyes back to the front dashboard as the ship lurched through the air once more. It found a wind current, and for a few blessed seconds, appeared to be gliding smoothly on the air._

_Axel sighed. "I really, really didn't want to have to do that…but…I mean, come on, how else are we going to get them offworld?"_

_Roxas adjusted his foot on the gas pedal carefully. "You really…think you needed to send in Assassins?"_

"'_Course. If I had sent in…I dunno, Sorcerers, they'd all be dead in a matter of minutes. At least the Assassins listen to me."_

_Roxas looked over at Axel despite his better judgement, taking his eyes from the controls._

"…_they won't kill them, at least, I hope not. But sending Nobodies in there is probably the only thing that'll get those punks off their lazy butts."_

"_So what do we do now?"_

"_Well…we wait until we see Riku with the Muse and the Princess. We scoop 'em up, try to stay afloat for a little while, and once everybody else notices we've got their precious cargo…"_

_He swallowed hard._

"…_we lead 'em in a wild goose chase to Traverse Town."_

………….

AHH! Finally. Got that out. All right, now that I've gotten past my one huge snag in the story, it should be smooth sailing from here on out. Keep an eye out for more soon! REVIEWS ARE MOST WELCOME!


	24. Sanctuary Lost

Whoo! Hey, guys, sorry about the delay, once again. –sweatdrop- Last time I updated, it was Spring Break, so I had a ton of time to sit around and write. Well, after that, I had 1) spring play, 2) final two weeks of senior year, 3) internship at graphic design studio, 4) graduation, 5) 18th birthday (WOOHOO!), and 6) college orientation. 

All that being said, HI! I'm so glad I could finally get this chapter out! It was a bear to write, let me tell you that. So you all know, I'll be heading off to college in the fall! I'm so excited, and I did happen to get an academic scholarship to my choice school, so my parents and I are quite thrilled.

I'm going to be getting some jaw surgery later this month (ouch), so I'm going to be writing like a madwoman over the next few weeks. Keep an eye out for new chapters! Also, _with this update, TTIF has just exceeded the length of the first Harry Potter book_. Wow.

**This story, TTIF, hit its 2ND BIRTHDAY on June 6! Thank you so much to all of you, especially those who were with it from the very beginning--you are the reason it's come so far!**

Disclaimer: Song lyrics in this chapter are from "_Mistakes We Knew We Were Making_" by Mae.

You guys rock. Enjoy chapter twenty-four!

* * *

Chapter 24: Sanctuary Lost

Kairi had always considered herself a relatively patient person. She'd dealt with waiting an extra half an hour for Selphie to finish her "look" to go out for dinner, she'd sat through Sora's meets when he tried his hand at swim team the summer when they were eight, and of course, she'd spent every free moment sitting on the beach waiting for her two best friends to return from worlds beyond. And she hadn't once complained.

Kairi was pretty sure she'd just lost that reputation.

"How long have we been on this thing?"

Cloud pulled his bag over toward him from his spot on the lift's floor, squinting at a digital watch he had fastened around the strap. "It's almost two in the afternoon."

Aerith groaned, resting her chin in her hands, sitting indian style. "We've been sitting here for forty minutes, then."

"And this rock tunnel sorta starts to look the same after a while," Cloud muttered, shutting his eyes and leaning his head back against the rails. "Wake me when we get there."

Aerith leveled a mock-glare at him, nudging him in the shoulder a few times. He frowned slightly, but seemed to be drifting pretty quickly into his third catnap of the trip. Aerith smiled at Kairi and mouthed something that looked suspiciously like, "Men."

Kairi had gotten used to the clattering and rumbling of the lift stop as it hurtled along rusty tracks. It was slower than the ones at the castle, she was sure, probably because of the lack of maintenance. And if what Aerith said was true, it was about twenty miles from the castle walls to the shelter.

She stood up restlessly, pacing one side of the round lift, leaning against the faintly glowing crystal that powered it.

_Sora._

She was going to see him soon. More than ever, the thought sent little thrills of happiness through her and made the heat rise into her face. Oh, she was hopeless, wasn't she?

The lift gave a somewhat more violent shudder than whatever incidental bucks and rumbles they'd felt before. Kairi grabbed onto the rails, looking around to see if the light had changed at all.

Cloud was up in a flash, his eyes bright and wary despite being half-asleep just a moment ago. Aerith got quickly to her feet.

"...are we there?" Kairi asked tentatively.

Aerith peered forward into the darkness, squinting. "Nothing looks different...maybe it was a false alarm?"

As if in protest, a clash of metal sounded as the lift shook on its tracks, throwing Cloud off balance and making Kairi lose her grip completely, landing painfully on her backside on the floor of the lift. She stood up, rubbing the offended spot and wincing.

"This doesn't sound good," Aerith said worriedly, suddenly looking not-too-confident in the rail she had braced herself against.

Kairi shook her head and crawled back toward the side of the lift to pull herself up, wary for another jerk of the tracks, when--

"AAAGH!"

There was a hand...no, TWO hands...curled over the edge of the lift, just where she'd been standing a moment ago. They were clad in black gloves, reaching out and exposing the skin of the person's forearm beneath a black leather sleeve. In the shadows, they were perfectly concealed outside the light of the crystal.

The Organization...?

"Kairi, what is it?!" Aerith asked in alarm, starting from Kairi's sudden shout.

"There!" She pointed frantically toward the hands.

"What the--" Cloud exclaimed.

"Who are you?" Kairi demanded fearfully of the unknown hitchhiker, but hearing no response, promptly stood up, and brought her boot down as hard as she could on the gloved fingers.

She got a reaction then--a hissed chain of swearing as the offended hand withdrew and the lift's frame screeched in protest as the person's weight shifted. How on earth were they holding on, come to think of it?

Cloud was suddenly beside her, his sword out and glowing faintly from the materia spheres in the hilt. The other hand had reappeared, though the person appeared to have realized he'd been spotted and was now scrabbling for a way to bring himself up into plain view before he lost grip on the lift. Cloud pushed Kairi away gently with the back of his arm, brandishing the blade as close to the person's struggling grip as he could.

"Who the hell are you?" he demanded in a much more convincing tone, Kairi had to admit, than how she'd just shouted at whomever this was.

The struggling stopped, and Kairi heard a defeated sigh over the rumble of the lift. In a tireless and swift movement, the arms retreated and--suddenly--the person was through the bars, standing before Cloud as still as a statue. He was clad in Organization garb, and his hood was up. Kairi instinctively grasped the handle of her sword, feeling Aerith suddenly behind her with staff in hand.

"So much for being subtle," a voice came from the black hood, pale lips set in a firm line visible beneath the shadow. He glanced at the gleaming metal sword, seeming unfazed.

Kairi's eyes narrowed. It couldn't...?

The person sighed again, and pushed the hood back from his head and let it fall around his shoulders.

Kairi nearly fell over.

"RIKU?!"

Riku put his hands in his pockets and met Kairi's eyes, giving her what could have been a guilty little grin, if not for the hard look in his eyes. Taken aback, she froze in the act of rushing toward him. Cloud slowly let down his sword, looking at Kairi sidelong.

"Where have you been?" she cried, letting go of the handle of her sword and willing that unpleasant look in his gaze to disappear.

"Kairi...who is this kid?" Cloud muttered.

"He's...he's my best friend from my home world," she said quietly, still tentatively looking at Riku as if she'd seen a ghost.

Riku gave a short jerk of the head. "I had a bad feeling, so I had to run and check it out." He looked genuinely apologetic now. "Sorry if I made you worry, Kairi."

Despite the doubt pulling at her heart, she stepped out and around Cloud and approached her best friend. Before he could say a word, she gave him a gentle shove in the gut.

"Uh!" he exclaimed in surprise, gloved hand flying to protect himself from further assault. "What was that for?"

"I had to make sure you were really sorry for scaring me and Sora half to death," she said brightly, giving him a small smile. "But why were you trying to go all stealth-ninja on us like that?"

"Huh?"

"Riku, you were stowing away on the bottom of the lift stop. When were you planning on letting us know?" she said sternly, aware of Cloud and Aerith softly talking behind them.

He seemed unprepared for the question. "Uh, that...well..."

The lift gave a more normalized shudder, and a sudden cold rush of air hit the group, kicking the dust up off the floor and rails and rushing back into the darkened tunnel. Riku grabbed Kairi's arm to steady her as the entire lift suddenly screeched to a stop, locking into place with a deafening rattle as blinding light suddenly streamed in from over their heads.

"We're back?" Aerith said tentatively, squinting up into the light.

"Looks like it," Riku replied, more to himself than to the others. "Listen, Kairi..."

The lift set off again with a lurch, instead gliding vertically upward along two columns on either side of the sunlit shaft. The light was growing more bearable as their eyes adjusted from being in pressing darkness.

"Kairi," Riku said suddenly. "You have to follow me. I came to get you because we don't have time for you to figure this out for yourself."

"Riku--?"

"We don't have time!" he said sharply, his aquamarine eyes flashing. "You have to follow me right now or we're all screwed. "

"But...Sora and the others are--"

"Don't worry about them! You'll see them soon enough," he said through gritted teeth. "Kairi, if you're my friend at all, you'll listen to me!"

Both his hands were gripping Kairi's upper arms; the panicked and honest look on his face almost too much for her to bear. She'd never seen Riku look afraid before. Never. She stared up at him, slowly nodding her understanding.

"...okay."

He let go of her slowly, and she turned to Cloud and Aerith, who stood watching warily. "Listen, guys, I have to go wi--"

"They come too," Riku interrupted sharply. Kairi stopped short, and whipped around to look at him.

"Huh?"

"They have to come too," he said firmly, outstretching a hand. Kairi gasped as a dark, oscillating portal generated in thin air beside him. "Come on, there's no time!"

"Riku...?" Kairi said, suddenly frightened as he took her hand tightly and began to pull her inside.

He did not look at her as she struggled against the cold, raw darkness slowly enveloping her. She felt Aerith's hand latch on to her forearm just as sensory deprivation took over, and the unbridled fear she'd felt the last time she traveled this way blocked out all rational thought.

And as she succumbed into the portal of darkness, she heard an unmistakable scream of rage.

-----

"Curaga! Curaga!" Donald squawked.

Yuffie pushed herself up off of her spot over Leon's shoulder, squinted back, and shook her head dejectedly.

"Cure?" Donald said, a little more subdued.

"I don't think it's helping anything, Donald," Sora said. "That cut on her leg looks pretty deep."

"At least it stopped bleeding," Yuffie mumbled, wincing as Leon shifted too quickly and sent her bouncing as the group thundered up a third set of stairs.

Donald's face brightened a smidgen at her words, as he'd been glaring at his staff with a rather petulant expression.

Leon moved with purposeful strides, not having said anything since they'd set off for the Great Crest above them. While leaving a note for Cloud and the others, a group of four Dusks had ambushed them so quickly they weren't even able to nail it to the wall to keep it from blowing away in the shaft wind.

"Sora, your ship's in decent shape, right?" Cid asked as they hurried along, a note of skepticism in his voice.

"Eh heh…as decent a shape as we could keep it without replacement parts," Sora admitted, walking a little faster.

"Sheesh, let's hope," the pilot grumbled.

"Do you think it'll be all right, Cid?" Goofy asked. "We haven't seen a mechanic in over a year, a'hyuck. We've only got Chip 'n' Dale to help us with repairs."

"It better be up to scratch. How far're we goin', anyway?" Cid asked Leon pointedly, the swordsman finally turning his head slightly.

"What, are you asking me?" Leon said. "Last time I checked, I'm not the greatest decision-maker when it comes to world jumping."

"Oh, for Pete's sake, Squall, are you still beating yourself up over that?" Yuffie quipped, giving him a soft biff in the back of the head with her hand.

He repositioned her on his shoulder roughly, eliciting a little yelp from the ninja.

"That's Leon," he said darkly, not matching her joking tone.

They'd emerged out of the last lift stop, and Leon led the way out onto the first balcony to traverse the Great Crest. Goofy and Donald hurried ahead, where the gummi was resting against the wall, lurid and bright in the mid-afternoon sun.

Sora crossed his arms and caught up with Leon, looking uncertainly up at his stony face.

"Well, Leon?" he said tentatively. "What do you think we should do?"

His expression did not change in the slightest, but he turned his head and lifted an arm to gently let Yuffie down. She made another shrill squeak as she came unsteadily back on to her own two feet, and Sora caught her as she skidded sideways on her bad leg.

_We made plans to be unbreakable,  
Love was all we knew.  
No insurance for the unthinkable,  
Blindly get us through._

"Ugh…thanks, Sora," she said brightly as he looped her arm over his shoulders to help her walk. "At least _some_ guys know how to treat a lady."

Leon did not appear to be listening as he turned away from the two of them.

"We're not leaving," he said finally, in an almost dangerous tone.

"Squ—Leon!" Yuffie cried, making Sora jump in their close proximity. "Have you completely lost it? Did you see what that one little thing did to me?"

"We've all gotten little scratches before, Yuffie," he replied in a monotone. "We're getting in the damn ship to pick the others up and find somewhere safe _on this world_. We're not giving this place up without a fight…like we did last time."

Yuffie mouthed incoherently for a moment, narrowing her eyes at his back and whispering something only Sora could hear: "Little scratch?"

An echoing rattle suddenly wafted up in the warm air, so soft they would not have heard it without the silence that followed Leon's words.

_We've been searching for a lifetime,  
Short as it may seem.  
Riding on the fumes that spark us,  
While igniting dreams._

Cid rushed to the stone handrail that surrounded the balcony they stood on, leaning over as far as he dared.

"Leon!" he yelled, suddenly looking back at them with a wild look in his eyes. "It's the lift stop!"

Sora's heart soared, and looking at Yuffie, they hurriedly hobbled together to the edge, Sora half-carrying her with her arm hooked around his neck. They leaned out over the edge, Yuffie pulling back after a glance with a nauseous expression.

Out of the dark abyss that surrounded the lowest parts of the castle, one of the many lift stop anchor poles was shaking and rattling with the weight…of a lift coming slowly but surely out of the depths. Vaguely, in the shadows of the moat where the sunlight couldn't reach, Sora could vaguely see three figures…

A sudden bang like gunshot made the four of them jump in startlement, and a panicked quack came from the direction of the gummi ship several yards away. Sora instinctively clutched for his Keyblade, looking wildly around for the source of the noise. Yuffie kept her tight hold around the back of Sora's shoulders, fumbling for shuriken in her pocket as Leon suddenly let out a strangled yell.

"There!"

_Mistakes we knew we were making.  
Mistakes we knew we were making.  
Don't think about chances we're taking,  
Mistakes we knew..._

All Sora's hair blew back from his face as the Shera suddenly reared up in midair, unnoticed until it was right on top of them. It hovered uncertainly for a split second, then swooped in a quick three-sixty to glide on air barely ten feet above their heads.

A click echoed in the whirling wind, and a sudden blast nearly deafened Sora and Yuffie as Leon fired a shot at the ship's underbelly. It rebounded without so much as a dent, the Firaga-charged bullet spinning harmlessly to fall with a hollow click of metal on the balcony where they stood.

"Damn it, Cid, you covered the entire thing in Reflectga shields?" Leon yelled over the rushing wind in a fiercer voice than Sora had ever heard out of him.

Yuffie had let go of Sora for the time being, staring up at the hovering gummi in dumb shock, waiting for an opportunity to take action. He gripped the Keyblade firmly in his right hand, flexing his fingers around it and squinting into the reflective windows…

A puff of smoke, and another bang like an explosion tore through the heated air as the ship lifted a few feet from its standstill in midair, the tail rockets suddenly glowing an ominous red from deep within. As the sound faded from their temporarily deafened ears, Sora became aware of something else…

A girl screaming.

"STOP!" Sora suddenly shouted as Leon raised his Gunblade a second time, rushing away from a somewhat-steady Yuffie as the ship revved, the exhaust becoming louder by the second.

The rattle of the lift stop was growing louder as well, and torn between looking over the edge and the matter at hand, the ship gave him an answer—it turned slightly and banked…

Through the window, his stunned gaze swept over…

"_They've got Kairi!_"

Adrenaline suddenly raced through his veins to such a point he nearly couldn't breathe. As the ship's window suddenly slid open, his worst fears were realized: inside, he saw who was unmistakably Kairi, held firmly into her seat by what looked like an arm clad in black leather.

"Leon!" Yuffie screamed, going down on one knee with her fingers pressed to her wound. "A-A-Aerith's in there!"

Twin shouts alerted Sora's stunned mind that Donald and Goofy were suddenly beside him, brandishing their weapons with the grim look on their faces that they always wore when the situation was grave.

In the confusion, Sora barely realized that two dark portals had suddenly appeared some ways away from where he stood…

_And when we try to think of the life inside,  
We found ourselves looking at the world  
_

He looked once more at the ship above him, waiting to take off as if the pilot was hesitating, suddenly catching something he hadn't seen before…

It was _Riku_ with his gloved hand over Kairi's mouth.

Stunned numb, torn between anger and desperation, Sora watched the scene before him in sudden slow motion as two unfamiliar faces drifted into his line of vision. One, with blue hair falling over his shoulders, the other with a sand-colored mop of spiky hair combed back from a wide grin.

Sound and light blurred together as he numbly felt himself being scooped roughly up, and thrown over a shoulder as all the wind was knocked from his body. He gasped for air, clutching at his captor as he moved at an almost unfathomable speed toward the wall of the castle…

_Mistakes we knew we were making.  
Mistakes we knew we were making.  
Don't think about chances we're taking,  
Don't think about rules we were breaking._

He was inside the Highwind now, realizing with a jolt that he'd gone into a fog and Cid had picked him up and carted him over to the ship…

"Kairi!" he hissed, still winded from being thrown so roughly over the pilot's shoulder. "And Riku!"

"We know, Sora, we know," Leon said fiercely as Donald and Goofy threw themselves into the pilot seats, the ship revving beneath his feet as he stumbled out of the hatch that led to the lower level. "Just calm down and get yourself strapped in before we all get ourselves killed."

His thoughts whirling so quickly and so relentlessly through his head that he could barely move straight, Sora unsteadily fell into the passenger bench seat in the rear of the cockpit. Cid suddenly appeared beside him, holding a struggling Yuffie in a bridal-hold as he dropped her as gently as he could onto the seat beside Sora before strapping himself in, next to Leon, who was still gripping his Gunblade so hard, the muscles on his forearm were standing out stiff and hard.

The Highwind suddenly roared to life, lifting off with a jerk first to the left, then to the right, as Donald squawked aloud and found a wind current to glide on. From the back of the ship, Sora could barely make out the shape of the Shera some distance ahead in the sky, still moving as unsteadily as he'd seen it when it had made it's first appearance above the gummi garage.

The knowledge that his two best friends were inside it stung so badly, he could hardly breathe.

_Mistakes we knew we were making  
__Mistakes we knew…_

"We're leavin' Holler Bastion's atmosphere now!" Goofy announced from his spot in the co-pilot seat, his voice uncharacteristically serious.

"Once we're out of this world, we'll tail that ship until it lands," Donald echoed, leaving the ship to Goofy for a moment as he turned to look at Sora. The teenager met his eyes, seeing a heartbreakingly sympathetic look on the duck's face.

"Damn it," Leon swore, leaning over his knees and staring at the floor. "If those two jerks from the Organization hadn't shown up, we might've gotten them down from there…"

Sora shut his eyes tightly. Leaning forward, he put his face in his hands as he suddenly felt Yuffie's hand on his shoulder.

"Sora?"

She tightened her grip ever so slightly as she felt his shoulders shake, weak and silent sobs wracking the teenager's frame. Glancing at Leon, the swordsman's face softened as well, his lips settling into a firm line as he surveyed the two of them.

Yuffie put her arm around Sora's shoulder, gently holding him as he cried, the fear in her own heart almost more than she could bear. If anything, she took comfort in the fact that she could help at least _one_ of her best friends in some small way…as the fate of the others had never seemed more uncertain.

_The list goes on and on…  
the list goes on and on._

…………………

Augh. I hate when chapters end like that. Sorry, guys. I promise this will continue VERY soon, as we're finally getting into the parts that I've pre-written—at least three quarters of the next two or three chapters have already been written and sitting in my hard drive for ages!

Yes, once again, the song lyrics are from "Mistakes We Knew We Were Making" by Mae. I figured I'd start throwing these in there, as Mae's song "We're So Far Away" will be making a VERY important appearance toward the end of the fic (finalchapter-cough-).

**Please review**! I absolutely _adore_ reviews and love to know what you all think! Thanks for sticking with me! Oh, and Kikofreako—I've been meaning to email you…forgive your dear old Per!


	25. Win the Battle, Lose the War

Woohoo! Hey, everybody. Here we are, chapter 25! And to think, I recently found a blog entry I made in 2005 saying I believed the story would wrap up at 11 chapters long. I do believe I was delusional. :-D 

Anyway, this chapter was quite a challenge to write. Exposition, character conflict, exposition, with a side of exposition. I hope you guys enjoy. Also, I couldn't go much longer without a dash of fluff. I mean, come on. It's been seven chapters already.

More to come soon! I've got my college schedule and it's actually quite light, so I'm going to continue the story even if I don't finish before the school year starts. I hope you guys will stay tuned in! We're getting toward the big finish now…I'm thinking the story will wrap up in 12 chapters or less. And then…onward to the sequel!

Btw, for those who were concerned about my last author's note, the jaw surgery went brilliantly and I'm recovering very nicely. You start missing solid food real fast, though…

Without further ado, enjoy!

………………………

Chapter 25: Win the Battle, Lose the War

Saix did not like moments where he felt close to losing his composure. He was always sure that keeping a firm façade of cool disinterest was the quickest way to disarm an opponent.

He had to admit, however, that he now felt something very close to surprise, something he did not often allow himself to show in his expression. But the situation was fragile…yet worthy of his almost-reaction.

"Interesting," he murmured to Demyx. "Very interesting."

"Oh, what are you talkin' about, boss?" his sandy-haired partner griped. "Why are we standing here? The freaks are right above us!"

"Quiet," he snapped. "Open your eyes, you idiot. The tables have turned."

"That's crap and you know it, Axel is just--"

"Axel…" Saix cut in. "…may require a second glance after all."

Demyx's expression changed then, his eyebrows raising. "…a second glance? Y-you mean…you think he's still with us?"

Saix turned to slowly pace away from number IX, crossing his arms tightly. The Bastion sun was uncomfortably hot on his head and shoulders, glaring with the determined brightness of early afternoon and casting a dry and pallid feeling to the air. He breathed in deeply through his nostrils, deep in thought.

"No," he answered finally. "But I'd be curious to see what he does from here on out."

"You're just going to let him go?" Demyx asked incredulously, looking first at his elder and then glaring up at the rapidly disappearing shapes of two gummi ships into the outer atmosphere.

"Don't put words into my mouth. I'm merely saying his actions may deserve a second look," Saix said, the snappish tone returning as he thought furiously. "There's something wrong here, can't you see it?"

Demyx gave a petulant look of boredom as he fidgeted with the top of his zipper, seeking a way to loosen the sudden unbearably hot vice his jacket had become. "I'm not going to pretend to know what you're talking about. What it looks like to me is that Axel's finally lost his friggin' mind and kidnapped the Princess in the most roundabout way possible. What _else_ is there to see?"

Saix turned at his words. "The Princess…yes. But one thing remains. He's leaving with her and Roxas in tow…but where is he headed?"

"Probably—"

"No," said Saix suddenly. "We won't know until he lands. Perhaps he _does_ intend to bring her to Twilight Town as ordered. Perhaps his methods are just…unorthodox."

Demyx stopped fidgeting, staring pointedly at apparently nothing on the ground before him. He slowly looked back up.

Saix met his eyes after a moment, frowning.

"Well, that's all fine and good, but how are we supposed to tail them now?" Demyx said. "You told me the Superior wanted me waiting on the…you know, the other side."

"The Superior's demands are few and far between," Saix retorted. "Until we reestablish our connection with him, we concentrate on one thing—find out where Axel is taking the girl, if not to the base."

"That could take ages! You know we have to track them by foot once they go out from under the radar!"

But then he was several inches above the ground, held up by Saix's black leather grip by the collar of his coat. His knuckles pressed against his throat, causing him to splutter.

"You will recall the other members and ascertain their successes on the other Princesses thus far. And if Axel does not come to the base as expected, then you will track down the damn girl and bring her to the mansion, and so help me, if she even so much as _glimpses_ the other side--"

"And—A-Axel?" Demyx managed, his voice fearful, suddenly afraid to antagonize the elder Nobody.

"I'm sure Xigbar will take care to sniff him out—and I will inform him that it's no longer search-and-destroy. If you hear anything on Axel or even see him, do not lay one finger on him. I want an immediate report. Who he's with, what he's doing."

He let him down roughly, shrugging the young man away with a flick of his wrist as he opened a portal and let himself through.

"Damn," Demyx swore, rubbing his neck. "_Damn_ it all."

……………..

"Would you hold still?"

A sickening crunch.

"Ouch! Dammit, Kairi, my foot!"

With that, Riku conceded to let Kairi's mouth free, the gloved hand immediately going to his sneaker, the white laces stark under the shadow of his black leather coat. She sprang up from his lap, so furious she could barely convey anything other than angered squeaks and huffs.

Riku winced a little, more so at Kairi than at the throbbing pain in his toes where her boot had stomped down.

"Riku, WHAT are we doing here?" she shrieked, leaning down into his shocked face. "And what did you do with Cloud and Aerith? You said they were coming too!"

"Calm down, calm down," he said in a slightly raised voice, trying to regain his look of nonchalance. "They followed a slightly different path out of the dark portal. They're down the hatch, in the lower level of the ship."

Before he'd even finished speaking, she'd turned on her heel and marched to the hatch, struggling to get it open with, Riku had to admit, an amusing amount of fury on her heart-shaped face.

"Kairi…."

"Who's flying this thing, anyway? And where are we going?" she asked, the edge disappearing from her voice as she worked to assure the safety of her friends below.

"Er…"

She stopped pulling at the heavy lever as she heard what was unmistakably Cloud's voice below, assuaged for the moment. She flipped her dark red hair out of her eyes, looking to Riku to answer her question.

"Well?"

Riku looked at her with an unreadable expression. "I take the fifth?"

She stood up then, looking genuinely worried now. She stalked past him, not looking away from him until she came to a semitransparent wall that separated the cabin from the pilots' coup. She leaned up to the frosted glass, squinting at the fuzzy figures that were flying the ship through what looked like a black void, from her perspective.

She'd only seen someone with hair that violently red once before…

"Hold on," she breathed against the glass, her insides clenching as two and two united in her mind, suddenly sick with the realization.

She turned uncertainly back to look at Riku, who met her gaze with a level stare. His lips were set in a firm line, his shockingly bright eyes cold and almost frightening, contrasting with his pale skin and the dark fringe of eyelashes.

Kairi had known Riku all her conscious life, just as long as she'd known Sora. There hadn't been a day where the three of them had been together in some way, whether it had been at school, on their island, or just sitting in one of their living rooms, whiling away their childhood like they had all the time in the world. They'd shared everything—thoughts, fears, every little worry any of them had confided in the others. They were all the others had when nothing else made sense; they were the closest three could be.

Kairi had never felt more estranged from Riku than she did at this moment.

He made no attempt to speak, no attempt to explain why he'd brought her here, no attempt to defend himself. He simply met her gaze as long as she stood there holding his, looking free of guilt, emotionless. A stranger.

Her heart fluttered when she saw a glint of amber gold amongst the bright green, then it gave an unpleasant jolt. His brow was furrowed, his face suddenly angry…older, lined in places, his hairline receding into a widow's peak. A twisted grin lit up the unfamiliar face…

_Ansem…_

Kairi only realized she'd cried out when reality snapped back into place, Riku's silver hair falling over his eyes and his flat expression shattering. He looked mildly surprised now, wondering what had caused the outburst.

"Y-you're…you're with _them_, aren't you?"

It made her sick to her stomach. It was as if someone had upended her world out of a cardboard box, everything that made sense scattering away and out of reach. She couldn't believe she was saying it, couldn't believe she felt the _need _to doubt him like this…he was her very best friend, the brother she never had.

Her lip trembled as he regarded her without so much as a bat of his eyes.

She jumped slightly as he opened his mouth then, his voice hoarse and a little remorseful.

"If I told you I wasn't, would you believe me?" he asked.

Kairi quailed inside. Could he honestly look her in the eye and lie to her…?

He sighed as she looked at him with the same pathetic expression, begging him silently to tell her what she wanted to hear, what she wanted to believe.

"No," he said finally, looking away from her and instead at apparently nothing on the floor in front of him. "My allegiance is not with the Organization."

It was an interesting choice of words, but Kairi was grasping at straws now, willing to believe anything he said as long as she could do away with the sinking feeling that she may have to think her own best friend a traitor.

"Your 'allegiance'?" she repeated in a small voice, then with a touch of levity, "I swear, you and Sora surprise me every day with the new words you--"

"Oh, shut it," he said, slightly irritated, but she could hear the amusement on the edge of his grudging voice.

She pursed her lips then. "…well, then, what is that…_man_ doing in the front of the ship?"

"Axel," he reminded her, looking wary. "Like I said, my allegiance isn't with the Organization. But I didn't say I wasn't…well…"

Her eyes widened as she realized what he was about to say.

"…_in_ the Organization."

"But Riku, how does that work?" she began, despite the cold wave that had washed over her as he'd confessed. "How can you be in the Organization and still with--"

"Riku!"

Kairi squeaked and hopped away from the door to the pilot's coup in one smooth motion, her heart skipping a beat as a voice rang out from the other side of the pane. A young man's voice. She shook her head, not willing to believe…

Riku stood up quickly, sweeping over to the pane and pushing down on the handle, sliding the pane out of the way and stepping into the coup. Despite her better judgment, Kairi tentatively padded over, staying in the cabin but leaning low to see the pilots more clearly…

"Yeah?"

"Do you have any idea what this light in the dashboard means?"

Another voice then, what she remembered as a menacing and sardonic one in the Beast's castle, now at a casually sarcastic tone.

"Kid, you're putting us to shame here. I told you, we're not hopeless, we'll figure it out eventually."

Riku reached up to rest a hand on the low ceiling, giving Kairi a better view of the co-pilot, who was sitting back and slumped in the seat as if he'd been doing this forever.

"It's next to the weight gauge, if you'd use your eyes," Riku answered him, gesturing carelessly toward Axel's side. "It probably just means we're under capacity, in case we were carrying a load of stuff in the back and needed to cram in as much as it could fit."

"Would you listen to him, Ro--"

"_Roxas?!_"

Kairi burst in under Riku's arm so fast, both Axel and Roxas shouted and jumped back in their seats so the gummi ship bucked, nearly sideswiping something floating ahead of them as they fought to regain control.

"Geez, Kairi, give a guy a warning!" Axel griped, but turned to Kairi with a cunningly amiable expression, his green eyes amused.

Kairi stuck her lower lip out in what she meant as a huff, but then turned to Roxas, whose shoulders were tense and slightly hunched as he stared determinedly out the front window.

There was a very long and awkward silence—or so it felt. After a moment, the blonde chanced a glance toward Kairi and Riku, standing slightly behind the two pilot seats.

"Er…hi?"

Kairi looked at him incredulously, shaking her head once or twice before turning and disappearing back into the cabin.

Roxas swallowed hard, his face pink, but then looked up at Riku. "Did the others come without a fight?"

Riku avoided his eyes. "Not exactly."

"Well, nothing we can do about that," Axel commented, inspecting the radar and seeing the Highwind still a comforting few dot-lengths away. "Better not to blow our cover just yet."

"What are you talking about?" Riku said through gritted teeth. "Kairi's my best friend, you know. I can't let her think I've let her down. What would she tell Sora?"

"In other words, you already told her," Axel said flatly, a sudden bitter edge on his voice. "Didn't you?"

Riku was silent.

"Well, we'll see if we need to call Namine in on that one. DiZ wasn't expecting you to blow it so quickly, man," Axel said in a resigned tone. "Whatever. If she thinks, at least, that Roxas and I are still in with those jerkoffs, then we don't have to worry over what she knows about you."

Roxas exhaled loudly, controlling his side of the ship mechanically, his face sour.

"When we get to Traverse Town, don't dawdle," Axel continued, removing his eyes from the dashboard and locking with Riku's stern gaze. "Drop them off, and don't look back. Got it memorized?"

Riku nodded his assent. Turning quickly, he paced back into the cabin to find the hatch open and Kairi gone, the three friends softly talking on the lower level.

He stepped around the hatch and into the back end of the cabin, leaning up to peer out through one back window above the rockets. Just barely, he could see the battered Highwind struggling to keep up the chase.

"That's it," he muttered. "Keep going, Sora. I'm giving her back to you…and you'd better take care of her, okay?"

He grinned, but knew his best friend would never see it.

……………

It wasn't until this exact moment that his Majesty, King Mickey, realized how truly difficult it was to explain the concept of multiple worlds to a group of people sheltered from this knowledge their entire lives.

Not to mention, how difficult it was to get it through the skulls of three incredulous teenagers.

"I don't believe it," Hayner said, for the sixth time since the four of them had seated themselves around their Usual Spot to hear Mickey's story. "I just don't get it…this deal with the worlds. I mean, I always thought Sora came from five hundred miles in another direction, or something."

Olette sighed, but didn't miss a beat as she lightly biffed Hayner over the top of the head. "Then you weren't listening!"

"I guess I can believe that," Pence said thoughtfully, folding his arms. "It would explain why Sora went through so fast, plus it would explain why we'd never seen people like King Mickey or Donald and Goofy before."

"Yeah, I mean, 's not every day you see a huge mouse, dog, and duck go walking through Twilight Town."

Olette's hand was still hovering above Hayner's.

"Oww…"

Mickey chuckled. "It's all right, fellas. I know we look a little unusual. To tell you the truth, up until nine years ago when I first realized the world barriers had fallen, I'd never seen anyone outside my own world. It, uh, was a little bit of a shock when I met people like you."

"Wow," Olette said, a touch of awe in her voice. "Really makes you think, doesn't it? How many different people could be out there…"

"Aw, Olette, don't go all philosophical on us," Hayner griped.

"Yeah, that's my job," Pence said with a grin.

"So you said something about this…Organization XIII," Olette continued, ignoring the interjection. "What are they actually trying to do?"

Mickey sighed, his gloved hand flexing restlessly on the arm of the big battered couch where he sat.

"That's where things get complicated."

"We've got time!" Pence said, leaning back into his bean bag chair.

"Well," Mickey began, hesitating. "I guess it couldn't hurt. This affects you just as much as it does the rest of us."

…………..

_There is a legend, so they say, of the worlds and of the balance between light and dark. Eternally at war are these two polar opposites, existing in harmony only to avoid the disastrous effects that would come about were they ever to fight for dominance._

_Only the Old Magic, an ancient sorcery that exists only in the hearts of a select few, is capable of controlling these two mediums…of affecting the balance between these two volatile forces._

_These select few have presented themselves in odd circumstances, but always in similar instances: in the hearts of those few who were untainted by one of the warring forces, whether it be dark or light. Only these, whose hearts are either entirely light or entirely dark, hold the power to place a check on the opposing element._

_The Princesses of Heart, those whose hearts are pure and entirely free of the taint of darkness, serve as a channel by which to manipulate the darkness—to open the fabled Door to Darkness, Kingdom Hearts. They also are entrusted with protecting the light, rather than wielding it with any significant power—aside from the seventh, the Guardian, charged with protecting the Door to Light._

_The Chasers, those whose hearts are of the purest darkness, were originally meant to combat the threat of overriding, blinding, all-encompassing light…to fight the imbalance. The darkness in their own hearts, at great cost, slowly consumed them all until none were left. However, these warriors had no power over the Door to Light—for the fate of its first opening since the worlds' creation was instead entrusted to prophecy._

_The fabled, long-awaited young Keyblade master, and the final descendant of the Muse._

"_Beware. The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes. But do not be afraid. Don't stop walking…"_

_**Remember, Sora…you are the one who will open the door to the light.**_

_But the Old Magic and those who studied it also knew of the disastrous consequences that would ravage the worlds, should the balance of light and dark be disturbed. _

_For while the Door to Darkness, Kingdom Hearts, is open, the Heartless and creatures of darkness roam free and wide, consuming the hearts of the innocent and the powerful alike. Before this one-sided war is won, a heart on both sides of the door must unite their power to close the door and shut off a source of troops…the shadows themselves._

_But those who studied the Old Magic discovered something as they explored the depths of its knowledge…a secret._

_While it has always been common fact that darkness and light must constantly exist together, that complete dominance by either would be disastrous, they knew innately…that the Light must always prevail. For the only source of light within darkness must be a force of light in itself. However, shadows within the light can only be cast by those who stand in the light, who are bathed in it—and these shadows will never be strong enough to dominate the light._

_The opening of the Door to Light must occur when the darkness has been appropriately subdued, with Kingdom Hearts closed and the creatures of darkness poised on the edge of destruction._

_For if both the Doors were to be open simultaneously, they would progressively destroy the other until nothing of either would be left…_

_The world between._

_Nothingness. The absence of light, and the absence of darkness._

_And it is for this reason that those who are allied with neither…the Nobodies…seek not to ally themselves with any one side, but rather to see both sides to their destruction…_

…_and at last live in the world between, where they can be nobody in the midst of nothingness._

_The world between. Paradise._

…………………

"The world between," Pence said, sounding more than a little worried. "That's what they're looking for, isn't it?"

"If what DiZ was telling me is true, yep," Mickey said sullenly, looking downcast. "They're looking for the Princesses to open Kingdom Hearts, and if they time it right, then it's going to get real difficult if it turns out we gotta have a heart on both sides of Kingdom Hearts. Ya see, if they open it, Sora can't open the Door to Light until it's closed."

Hayner was uncharacteristically quiet. He stared at the dirty rug on the concrete, apparently unseeing.

"Roxas…is a Nobody, isn't he?" he said quietly.

Olette and Pence gasped at once, in what would have been an almost comically synchronized way had the conversation not turned dark so suddenly.

Mickey had tensed when Hayner spoke, his hand curling into a fist on the arm of the couch. He wasn't sure whether answering would set their uncertainties to rest or frighten them.

"Yep…Roxas is a Nobody."

Hayner made no indication he'd heard, save that he closed his mouth, his lips set in a firm line.

"…'kay."

Olette looked at Hayner with concern, but he was already looking up and grinning halfway.

"Heart or no heart, he's still Roxas, right?"

Pence laughed, almost too loudly. "Sure. I mean, it's not like he's ever had one."

"Pence!"

Mickey relaxed, smiling at the three of them. "Well, now that we got that outta the way…I should really get goin'."

He jumped lightly down from the couch, putting up his dark hood once more.

"One thing, Mick—your Majesty," Hayner said suddenly, stopping the King with one large hand. "Just because Roxas is a Nobody…doesn't mean that he's trying for this 'world between' stuff, right?"

Mickey said nothing for a moment, then sighed.

"Because you're his friends…I'll tell you that no, he isn't," Mickey said, quite seriously. "Far from it, to tell ya the truth. But you can't let anyone know. Blowing his cover at this point could…"

He stopped.

"…it's okay, your Majesty. We get it," Olette offered, and the King gave her a grateful smile before nodding to the boys and hurrying out of the Usual Spot.

Pence flopped over from his spot perched on a barrel, letting himself fall heavily onto the couch cushions on his back. He looked at the other two upside-down, his dark hair sticking out in all directions beneath him.

"Heavy stuff," he commented lightly. Olette and Hayner looked at each other, then back at him, and the three burst into relieved laughter.

They'd worry about this when they needed to. Knowing Roxas was all right was really all any of them cared about.

…………………..

The huge gummi hangar outside Traverse Town was bustling with life, with comings and goings and mismatched crowds of people talking, yelling, and bustling into the world gate with the urgency of a group of fugitives.

Fugitives was perhaps too accurate a word, Kairi reasoned, as Riku opened the hatch of the gummi ship to let her and a reasonably calm Cloud and Aerith out onto the loading dock.

Aerith immediately put an arm about Kairi's shoulder, and as they turned, Kairi was sure she felt Cloud's warm hand come to rest on her back, his face sour as they turned to look back at Riku.

He looked poised to say something, but Kairi felt a little stab of guilt in her gut when he suddenly frowned and whipped around, stepping back toward the ship and putting his hood up.

Before she knew she'd moved, her hand had closed around Riku's wrist.

He half-glanced back at her.

"I was never here," he said in a grim monotone. "I'm still an unknown quantity at this point, Kairi. Don't let me fool you."

Didn't he know that he was killing her inside, trying to convince her she should still distrust him after all she'd seen and heard?

"Riku!"

But he'd pulled out of her grasp, her fingers closing around air as he stalked away and back to the ship. The silhouettes of Axel and Roxas were ducking down, avoiding the glance of any passersby…

She stumbled on a foot or two, reaching after the disappearing figure when a shout rang out across the garage—

"KAIRI!"

She whipped around, afraid her heart would leap out of her chest as she saw the most wonderful sight she'd ever seen…

Sora, Donald, Goofy, Cid, and Leon with Yuffie in an awkward sort of half-piggyback were pelting full-speed toward them, a mixed cacophony of shouts and screams deafening all who stood nearby. Groups scattered away from them, some staring and some with amused looks on their faces. Kairi suddenly became aware of Cloud between Aerith and herself, one of his hands on each their shoulders. She chanced a glance. He was grinning.

Before she knew it, the group had crashed into them, converging into a loud and tearful tangle of arms and fabric. Kairi felt Cid's fatherly hug around her thin frame first, but her hands were feeling frantically for another—

A hand caught hers as Yuffie's voice lifted above the din in an earsplitting shriek as she found Aerith.

The hand pulled firmly, and Kairi immediately felt her eyes well up with tears as she recognized the gentle grip. With another pull, she was out from between Cloud and Leon and into seemingly fresh air.

Sora wasted no time, pulling Kairi into a spinning embrace as Kairi choked out his name, clinging to his warm body as desperately as she could find the strength to muster.

She'd never wanted to see someone so badly in her life…as he let her down gently, she pulled back from his shoulder, wanting only to see his face.

He was smiling, his face shining with perspiration and relief. His clear blue eyes, wonderfully familiar after being so long without them, the wispy tufts of pale brunette hair falling across his forehead…his lean but muscled arms still encircling her as the shouts around them fell on deaf ears.

"Hi," he said at last, exhaling suddenly. Kairi found herself giggling at how anticlimactic, yet wonderful, it was to hear that voice.

"Hi."

She could see the relieved expression suddenly break, and both of them broke into hysterical and nervous laughter, Kairi throwing her arms around Sora's neck and rocking them both back and forth.

She barely noticed the next few minutes, as Sora suddenly relinquished her and she was pushed into several pairs of waiting arms—Leon, Yuffie, and the joyous greetings of both Donald and Goofy. The words they spoke made no sense, it was as if she'd been stunned into a muted and fast-moving world. It was unreal.

She was back. He was back. They were all together now.

And it wasn't until the group was moving with the crowds toward the world gate, and she felt Sora's hand tentatively brush against hers, that reality again snapped back into place. Noise rushed into her ears, and the world was moving at a less-than-dizzying pace.

Kairi glanced over, seeing Yuffie on her feet, Aerith having made quick work of the cut on her leg—as was her specialty—and Yuffie had one arm slung over Aerith's shoulder and one around Leon's waist, as she could not reach his height. Kairi smiled a little as she noticed the deep red blush on the apples of Leon's cheeks, his hand resting on Yuffie's shoulder as she talked animatedly to the flower girl. Cloud held Aerith's free hand, and Cid was some distance ahead with Donald and Goofy.

The brush against her hand drew her attention, and she felt Sora's fingers gently lace between her own. She felt the blood rush to her face, and awkwardly looked up to meet his eyes. He swallowed hard, apparently just as flustered as she, but smiled at her and the uncertainty melted away.

"I missed you," she said suddenly, but the words seemed inadequate. She leaned into him before he could react, resting her head against him. His hand slid from hers and came to rest instead curled around her shoulders, and they followed the group at a small distance.

She felt him plant a soft kiss in her hair, his mouth shaping the words against her forehead.

"Missed you more."

And while neither had possibly conveyed what they felt in their heart during those long hours of separation…it would have to do for now.

………………….

Ahh, fluff. :-D If you were hoping for more, I apologize, but all in good time, kiddos! I hope you understand a bit more about Organization XIII's plans now, as that was the purpose of the legend Mickey described.

More to come very soon! Keep an eye out! I love **reviews**, please leave them, thanks!


	26. Eyes On Me

Hey everyone. So sorry for the insanely long delay. D: This was Perhelediel's first semester at –drumroll- **COLLEGE. **So naturally, I've been extremely busy.

I promise I'll be better about updating from here on out. This update is dedicated to a special reader who sent me an email requesting that I update for her birthday…so happy birthday to you!

**Important:**I recently reworked some very important plot details in chapters 13 through 21 today. Namely, it was the plot point of Aerith having been killed. I've changed things up a little bit. Things still turn out the same way—but without all the melodrama. If you've been following the story up until this point, don't worry about it, but for the new readers—things have been changed up a tad. xD

Song lyrics from _Eyes on Me _by Faye Wong.

I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's partially filler, but I hope you like it. More intense plot points to come very soon!

* * *

Chapter 26: Eyes On Me

"C'mon, move...MOVE!"

Riku had quickly learned that while it had taken Axel several hours of trial and error to tackle piloting a gummi ship, he'd picked up the road rage quite like a pro.

"If you were going to pick THIS world, of all the tens of ones you could have flown to," Riku intoned, slouching with each elbow propped on the headrests of the pilot seats on either side of him. "...then you should have known you'd hit traffic."

"For the love of God," Axel hissed, his green eyes flashing as he scanned the chaos in front of him. "What makes this place so damn popular?"

"Games," Riku replied wearily.

"Games? Friggin'..."

"Games, meaning, tournaments. Like, duels."

"Oh."

Roxas bent his face into his shoulder and sneezed.

"Bless you," Riku muttered.

"Well, hey," Axel said suddenly, taking his eye off the line of ships waiting to enter the gummi hangar some hundred yards away. "I think that's the first sound we've heard out of you in hours."

Roxas' expression tightened ever so slightly, and he uttered a grunt of assent. Axel chuckled.

"I swear, I come this close to thinking I understand you, kid, and then you go and--"

"Axel!"

Riku was between them now, scrabbling to keep his balance as he tried to grab both Axel and Roxas by the back of the head and push them down. Axel swore as his nose hit the steering wheel and Roxas finally opened his mouth.

"Riku, wha--?"

"Shit," Riku hissed through his teeth. "Shit! He saw us! It's too late!"

"Who? What the hell--"

A sudden static sort of crackle filled the air, electricity making the hair stand up on the back of all three of their necks. Riku had let go of Axel and Roxas, whipping around as the ship bucked, dropping down and to the side and out of the line of traffic. Several ships rushed to fill the space, but it went unheeded.

Riku's eyes widened as the air behind him puckered, the light bending so it appeared that a hole was appearing out of nowhere, in dead space. Suddenly, a deafening bang shook the entire ship. It wasn't until he'd recovered from the shock and smelled the burning sulfur that he realized a smoking bullet was buried in the gummi material just to the left of his head.

Chest heaving, he jumped again as a face appeared, upside-down, inches from his nose.

"Scared ya, didn't I?"

Axel visibly tensed where he sat.

Xigbar's grinning face turned right-side up effortlessly, as he dissolved his portal quicker than Riku's stunned eyes could fathom and landed lightly on his feet.

"Sorry, kid, I really am not a total asshole all the time, you know. Initiation jabs. We all got 'em, and now it's your turn," he said amiably, the grin not quite reaching his eyepatch.

Riku was silent. He could almost feel the anxiety radiating off of Axel and Roxas' bodies behind him, as he leveled a cold stare at the Freeshooter.

"Pretty sweet ride," he said, turning from Riku's gaze and running a gloved hand over the gummi material supporting the glass dome above their heads. "I must say, wherever you nicked this from, you were planning on going wherever you're going in high sty--"

"Xigbar."

The gloved fingers froze in their tracks. Turning his head back toward the silver-haired teenager behind him, his eyes met the most bizarre sight…

Riku had staggered back into the corner of the ship's cabin, curled in upon himself with his chin to his chest and his gloved hands grasping at the spot just below the silver chain that hung across his jacket. He wheezed, once or twice, a forceful sound that whistled through his lips.

Roxas was on his feet immediately, ignoring the stunned Xigbar watching Riku with fascination. He took Riku by the shoulders.

"Riku, what's the matter?" he demanded. "Snap out of it!"

Riku gave one great shudder, curling even farther into a cower, before snapping his head up so quickly he nearly headbutted Roxas in the chin. The blonde shied away from the sudden movement, but his hand remained gripping Riku's left shoulder.

Riku was grinning madly.

Roxas let go.

_Those eyes…_

A memory flashed through his mind with a sharp, swift pang of fear. They were not his memories, but all the same…

Riku…no…who_ever_Riku had become slowly straightened, the grin fading to a smirk. He brought his gloved hand to his forehead in a slow, careful motion…almost gracefully brushing the silver bangs out of his eyes.

Axel had taken Roxas by the forearm and pulled him backward, away from the other two. He stood, trapped in the older Nobody's firm grip, watching dumbly…

The stranger turned his head slowly, regally, regarding Roxas for a moment with an aloft chin. Roxas stifled a cry…

_His eyes…they're gold!_

It was unlike anything he'd ever seen. Riku was pale enough already, and that was already magnified by the blue-silver hair that framed his stoic face. But this…this violently orange-amber hue that looked out from his almond-shaped eyes…it was terrifying to behold.

Evil. Unadulterated evil. That was what Roxas felt when he looked at those eyes.

The stranger turned Riku's head back toward Xigbar, who seemed to recognize immediately what was going on.

"My Superior!" he said in mild shock, all sign of his lazy drawl nowhere to be found. "So you've come back, huh?"

"That's enough," the stranger spoke using Riku's mouth. The voice that escaped him was mangled, distorted, a grim parody of Riku's voice laced with something deeper and more dangerous. It was as if two were speaking through one voice.

Axel was still gripping Roxas' arm. The blonde looked down at him, where he sat stock-still on the side of the pilot seat, his green eyes wide and his expression genuinely beyond belief.

"This is bad, Roxas," he hissed, as Xigbar made a show of respect toward the boy before him, their words drowned out in his shock. "This…this is something DiZ didn't count on. He was absolutely positive that Riku would have gotten rid of it by now…"

"Gotten rid of what?" Roxas asked him through gritted teeth.

"Damn it," Axel swore. "It looks like he only let things get worse."

"Your orders were given, correct?" Riku continued, the metallic quality to his voice chilling Roxas to the bone. "Carry them out and be quicker about it. You will be needed elsewhere."

Riku gave a quick twitch of the head, something flickering in his cold eyes. His lips pressed firmly together, and he shut his eyes in the same careful, regal fashion he had adopted when he made the shift. Roxas gave a start as Riku suddenly exhaled sharply, coughing and taking a step back as if he'd been holding his breath for too long.

Xigbar had turned away from Riku now, a twisted grin lighting up his scarred face.

"Now I'm sure you know what happens next," he drawled. "This is the part where you can either shut your face and come along quietly, or you lift a finger and I'm gonna have to make it hurt."

Axel stood, looking quickly at Riku, who now had a hand pressed up against the wall of the ship, gasping and trying to catch his breath.

"All right, I'll play your way," Axel said to Xigbar, crossing his arms. "Mind telling me my rights first?"

Xigbar's lips curled even more. "Axel, stepping down?"

Axel laughed, a genuine chuckle that Roxas couldn't help but wonder at as he tried to help Riku stand up straight.

"Nah," Axel said, grinning back. "I just want to make sure you get in all the thrills of being Saix's police dog before I whip your ass."

"Here?"

"Hell no."

"Axel, what--?" Roxas spluttered, Riku now leaning partially on his shoulder for support.

Axel glanced toward Roxas with just his eyes, still facing Xigbar with a confident stance.

"I asked for this, Roxas," Axel said, his eyes softening, but the snide grin still firmly in place. He winked. "Forget about me. Keep doing your own thing."

Before either Roxas or Riku could react, the two men grabbed each other's collars and in the blink of an eye, had disappeared into thin air as a dark taint filled the cabin.

Roxas didn't know how long he and Riku stood there, staring at the spot where Axel and Xigbar had just been standing.

* * *

"Where did we lose the kids?" Cid asked suddenly. 

The group had entered Traverse Town to sheer pandemonium. Where the town had used to be a mild little burg with the occasional passerby, the cobblestones of the square in the First District were now largely lost beneath the feet of hundreds of residents and visitors. And as the group had walked in, they'd noticed two fifteen-year-olds, a knight, and a mage had somehow not followed.

"They were behind us a second ago--!" Yuffie said, jabbing her thumb over her shoulder, and as she turned, nearly poked the person behind her right in the eye.

"Watch where you stick that thing!" said the young man, but he grinned at her good-naturedly, being pushed along by the crowd as they advanced toward the steps to the Accessory Shop. He ducked in and around Leon's tall form, before someone whose arm he was clasping bumped face-first into the small of Leon's back.

"Sorry! So sorry!" said the dark-haired girl he was leading, as the two of them dashed in front of a surprised Leon and rushed ahead of them. Then, to the young man Yuffie had almost hit, they heard her scold him, "Zidane, you have to stop doing that!"

People of every shape and size were drifting into the twilit town. Circled around one lantern were what appeared to be a family consisting entirely of children, clinging together looking intently at everyone who passed by. Cloud was looking curiously at the pair he was walking beside—one was a short teenager, with a long red jacket and blonde hair pulled back into a short braid, talking animatedly to someone in a massive suit of armor that towered above the crowd. Even people like Donald and Goofy appeared to have arrived—Yuffie's eyes lingered over what looked like two upright-standing foxes, one with a green hat with a red feather tucked into it escorting a shorter female with a pink shawl draped over her head. More than anything, refugees just like them seemed to be pouring in from all angles, some with outlandish clothing styles completely unfamiliar to the five of them, and others looking as if they could have come from Hollow Bastion themselves. Leon fought the urge to suddenly call out; he saw, some distance away, a cheery-looking older man leading along his little boy—Gepetto and Pinocchio, whom he recognized from their last extended stay in the town.

"I vote we get over to the café before we end up in the Second District," Leon said, having seen enough.

While the crowd standing in the square was considerably less violent and rushed than those pushing through the world gate, it still took a few minutes of careful maneuvers and more "excuse me"s uttered than any of them could count, before Aerith, Cloud, Leon, Yuffie, and Cid managed to stumble over to the podium in front of the now-fenced off café.

"How many?" said the waitress to Leon, apparently unfazed by the harried look on his face.

"Uh…"

"Nine!" Yuffie piped up, on tiptoe over Leon's shoulder. "Once the others get here, anyway."

"And who said we were going to actually sit DOWN at the café?" Leon grumbled, resigned.

_I never sang my songs  
On this stage, on my own  
I never sang these words  
Wishing they would be heard_

_I saw you smiling at me  
Was it real, or just a fantasy?  
You'd always be there in the corner  
Of this tiny little bar_

"I wish they'd stop singing this damn song," Leon grumbled.

They'd been seated in the café, everyone still keeping a keen eye out for the others. A lone singer in the corner lilted out a melody, with a pianist and guitarist behind her, the words mostly lost in the din of the crowd.

"Seriously, where could they be?" Yuffie asked petulantly.

"Hiya, fellas!"

Goofy and Donald had suddenly appeared by their table, Goofy having had to duck quickly under a high-riding tray on a waiter's hand. He stumbled on ungainly feet toward the side of the table away from the path formed by bustling waiters and diners.

"You survived!" Aerith said, laughing. "Where did Sora and Kairi end up?"

"We were hoping they were with you," Donald quacked, already in his chair and scowling with his arms crossed. "They got away from us somehow."

"But they were together last time we saw 'em," Goofy said, giving a bright grin. "So I can betcha Sora'll have Kairi safe and sound when they find us."

Yuffie shook her head, the talk about their table drowning out anything happening in the square.

"Those two are so darn cute," she said, almost bitterly.

"Jealous, Yuffie?" Aerith asked slyly, her green eyes dancing.

"Of Kairi and Sora?" Yuffie asked, looking almost crazed with denial for a fleeting second. "I love that kid, but not THAT much, thank you."

Cloud raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe..." Yuffie said, crossing her arms on the wooden table, talking quietly despite the buzz around them. "I don't know...it's almost like, if we don't survive this war, half of us will never get to have...what they have."

_My last night here for you  
Same old songs, just once more  
My last night here with you  
Maybe yes, maybe no_

_I kind of liked it your way  
How you shyly laid your eyes on me  
Did you ever know  
That I had mine on you?_

"...or a hell of a lot of other stuff. I guess..." Yuffie finished, clicking her tongue, apparently searching for words but not coming up with any.

The clatter of dishes and the happy talk around them drowned out the momentary silence that followed. Finally, Aerith broke the quiet.

"You're thinking too much," she said, taking a glass of soda from the waiter that had appeared near them and setting it down in front of Yuffie. "If things were going that badly for our side, do you think we'd have been able to meet up again like this? It's obvious there's some holes in the Organization's plans if they haven't caught up with us at all yet."

Yuffie rubbed one eye absently, pursing her lips.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," she said, picking up the glass and taking a long draw of soda.

Leon was still silent, subtly plugging his ears from the song he apparently despised so much by resting his chin in his hands, one fingertip in each ear.

"No, we're not by ourselves, we're with them!"

Yuffie looked up. Sora and Kairi were standing at the podium, negotiating with the waitress. Kairi had both hands clasped loosely about Sora's forearm.

"Well, finally," Cloud said, trying to wave them over.

_Darling, so there you are  
With that look on your face  
As if you're never hurt  
As if you're never down_

_Shall I be the one, for you,  
Who pinches you softly, but sure?  
If a frown is shown then,  
I will know that you are no dreamer._

Sora and Kairi both grinned at once, and had navigated their way over to the table in a flash. "Any room for us?" the Keyblade master asked brightly, grinning and a little flushed.

After a moment or two of awkward skidding of tables and chairs and waiters bustling, all were seated together, with one square table pushed crookedly against the round one they'd originally been seated at.

"Where were you guys?" Yuffie demanded, in what Sora and Kairi could only have described as a mother-like tone.

"Well, uh, we were a little bit behind you guys and then this other group managed to slide in between," Kairi replied. "And then we got stopped by this big guy with a sword and his friends, wanted to know what world this was…"

"But then Kairi got distracted by this little white fluffball mascot thing one of them had on her shoulder," Sora said, grinning. "So we got a little, er…delayed."

"Sakura said his name is Mokona!" Kairi insisted, sticking her tongue out at Sora.

"See what I mean?...hey," Sora said suddenly. "Where's Cid?"

"Oh, he's off trying to figure out accomodations," Aerith said, a look of anxiety on her face. "We've gotta find a place that fits nine people to sleep."

"Speak of the devil," Kairi said suddenly, waving in the direction of the accessory shop, where Cid was coming down the stairs looking totally defeated.

"Howdy," he said gruffly, standing beside the table. "Well, after twenty minutes and a lotta bloodshed, I've managed to snag us two rooms. And that's only because the manager remembered you lot."

"Two rooms?" Leon exclaimed. "You're not serious."

"Damn right, I am," the pilot said, gritting his teeth. "We gotta squeeze ever'body into the Green Room and the Red Room, or they can't give us anythin'."

Yuffie whimpered and put her head to the table, smacking the wood loudly with her palm.

Sora let out a low whistle and looked anxiously at Kairi, who shrugged.

_So let me come to you  
Close as I want to be  
Close enough for me  
To feel your heart, beating fast_

_And stay there as I whisper,_  
"_How I loved your peaceful eyes on me"  
Did you ever know  
That I had mine on you?_

"What're we gonna do?" Goofy asked, his eyes bemused.

"Well," the pilot said, scratching his head. "I've still got my little place in the Third District, but we only got one bed in there, and that table's screwed clean to the floor, so sleeping bags won't do it. So if I sleep in there, you all've gotta squeeze yourselves into those two hotel rooms or we're sleepin' on the cobblestones."

Yuffie looked up. "Well, I know there's a trundle under the bed in the Green Room...Squall used to make me sleep there when we had to room together."

"That's Leon," he mumbled. "And you always complained you'd roll off if we both slept on top, so what was I supposed to say?"

"We can order some cots," Aerith offered, looking doubtful. "It'll be tight, but I think that should work."

"All right..." Cid said, rubbing his hands together. "Then that settles it. Aerith and Cloud, you'll be in the Red Room and we'll get some cots for Donald 'n' Goofy here...and Leon and Yuffie, you two better work out your trundle beef or--"

"It's fine, it's fine, I'll sleep on a cot," Leon said, waving it off and picking up a french fry.

"I will too," Yuffie volunteered, a little quickly. She sat back in her chair, looking uncomfortable.

"So that leaves Sora and Kairi--"

"You can have the bed, Kai," Sora said quickly, reaching across to steal an onion ring from Yuffie's plate, which she'd pushed away a moment ago. Kairi raised her eyebrows, but smiled inwardly at Sora's offer. He probably had no idea he was being chivalrous--this was just how he always acted when it came to her.

Still the same Sora...

"Thanks."

Leon rubbed his brow, groaning. "This is going to be insane..."

_Darling, so share with me  
Your love, if you have enough  
Your tears, if you're holding back  
Or pain, if that's what it is_

_How can I let you know  
I'm more than the dress and the voice?  
Just reach for me, then  
You will know that you are not dreaming._

He glared in the general direction of the woman singing in the corner, then stood up suddenly.

"I'll see you guys there."

As long as it had taken him to get from the world gate to the café, it took him nearly no time to leave the restaurant and make his way up the steps in front of the Accessory Shop, and disappear in the crowd. They stared after him.

"What's with him?" Kairi asked, concernedly.

"I don't know," Aerith said thoughtfully. "Although I have to wonder if it was the song…"

"The song?"

"It's a little close to home, I guess. There was someone very special to Leon that he lost when Hollow Bastion fell the first time…"

…………………

"_Namine."_

_The slight girl looked up, her hand gripping a lilac-colored pencil._

"_Namine, you've done enough for one evening," said DiZ, leaning down to gently pry the sketchbook from her hands. "Why don't you rest?"_

_She nodded mutely, her lips pressed in a firm line._

"_You're worried."_

_She nodded, eyebrows turned up in concern. "How could I not be?"_

"_Things are out of our hands now, Namine. We can only wait for some indication from Axel and the others that the plan went smoothly," DiZ said, putting her sketchbook down on the white table. "Now, I must insist on your friends' behalf that you get some sleep."_

_Namine rubbed at her eyes, seeming to give in. She stood slowly, moving in a daze toward the door to the upper balcony of the Twilight Town mansion. The door shut with a click behind her._

_DiZ walked to the open window, gazing out at the twilit sky._

"_Your Majesty," he muttered. "I hope, for your sake, you can find that boy in time…"_

* * *

Whew. It's done. Thank goodness. 

Okay, so to explain some of the cameos you may have spotted in this chapter. The first is quite obvious—Zidane and Garnet of Final Fantasy IX. The next cameo, the boys gathered around the lantern—the Lost Boys from Peter Pan. Next, the red-coat teenager and the suit of armor—Edward and Alphonse Elric from the anime Fullmetal Alchemist (hey, Kingdom Hearts opens up the idea of universes colliding, so there you have it!). After that, the fox characters are Robin Hood and Miriam from Disney's Robin Hood. The group Sora and Kairi ran into were Kurogane, Fai, Syaoran, Sakura, and namely Mokona from the manga Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE.

Be on the lookout for the next chapter, coming your way soon! Guess who has a month and eight days off for Christmas break? Ohhh, college girl Perhelediel does:D So expect plenty of updates from me.

I HEART REVIEWS!


	27. Scattered Remains

All right. Know what? I think this is the last time I make any definite promises as to the next update. xD Seems like I get them up quickly when I DON'T promise they'll be soon, and when I promise they'll be soon, it takes me seven months.

Okay. So, bottom line, a thousand apologies for how late this chapter is.

I do however, promise that updates will be more frequent after this. I have a goal to finish this sucker by the end of this year. And seeing how busy I'll be once school starts, it's a good motivator.

Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! The story's building to the climax now.

* * *

Chapter 27: Scattered Remains

"What in Hades happened here?"

Megara stepped off the bottom panel of the streamlined stepladder, landing with an unsettling crunch on charred ground. She took a tentative step forward, her flats grinding up ash and muck.

The castle before her stood firm, but evidence of a struggle hung thick in the air; she could see droplets of dried blood on the pale grey cobblestones making up the front gates and path. The grass was torn up in places, and reduced to ash in others, and the stench in the air of burning…_something…_made her press her shawl to her nose.

"Hello? Anyone here?" she called tentatively, the usual sarcastic edge to her voice nowhere to be found.

Ringing silence.

She could see the trail of destruction as if it had been left minutes before. The front doors were ajar, one partially off its hinges, and rather vicious-looking bladestrokes crisscrossing the other. She could vaguely see the torn remains of blue and purple fabric littering the front stoop. Scrapes and marks lined their progress from the doors, across the moat-bridge, to where she now stood.

She jumped, startled, as one of her companions appeared in the corner of her field of vision to stand beside her.

"Well, no doubt, they didn't loiter around after this mess happened," he said in a deadpan, scratching his head and mussing his own mousy brown hair. His rather thick accent and unusual mannerisms were still something of a mystery to Meg.

"Oi, Fran," he called back to the airship behind them. "Can you sense anything here?"

The tall viera stood solemly by the hatch in the side of the Strahl, arms crossed and looking with cool disinterest at the scene before them. "Perhaps the remains of a very strong hatred," she intoned carefully, emphasizing her words with clicks of her tongue, also unaccustomed to the common language Meg was most familiar with. "But I cannot sense that anything here was left alive. It is deserted."

"Well, that's that," Balthier said, seeming to shrug it off instantly. "Let's move on, shall we?"

He put a companionable hand on Meg's upper back, to guide her back into the ship.

"That's three already," she mumbled. "That forest-y place a few days back, then that place we couldn't even land in—and I could've sworn they told me I wouldn't get two steps into this joint before some beastie-boy would be in my face."

"It's a mite unsettling, to be sure," Balthier said smoothly, giving Meg a chivalrous hand-up into the Strahl's cabin. "At least there's somewhat of a pattern to follow. This Sora you're looking for—will he have any idea what it means?"

"I hope to Zeus he's got more of a clue than I do," Meg replied, giving an exasperated sigh.

Fran and Balthier edged into their pilot seats, Fran bowing her head so her long rabbit-like ears were not strained against the low ceiling.

"Where are we going next?" she asked in her slow, foreign tongue. "Surely not--"

"I have one or two ideas," Balthier said with a smirk. "May as well get all the mileage we can out of this little adventure before we head back to Olympus, eh? You're not the only one on the hunt."

Meg snorted. "Sky pirates…"

* * *

Kairi awoke to pandemonium.

"Dammit, Yuffie, you're using up all the hot water!"

"Donald, can you go see why breakfast is taking so long?"

"They left us a free newspaper, a-hyuck!"

"I'm coming out now, all right Leon? Yeesh!"

"Try to look decent!"

"I lost my right sneaker somewhere..."

"Look under the cots."

"OY! Aerith!"

"There's a Heartless on the balcony...no, two..."

"What is it, Cloud?"

"Can someone take care of that?"

"Yo, Sora!"

"Wak, they mixed our order up with the Blue Room!"

"I'm still in my socks!!"

"Fine, fine, I'll go figure that out, hold your chocobos..."

"Yuffie, are there any towels left?"

"Shh, she's still asleep in here!"

Kairi sat up, rubbing her eyes frantically. The Green Room was a mess, the door to the Red Room propped open with what looked like Goofy's shield. Yuffie was in a fuzzy hotel robe, sitting on her cot and rubbing her hair dry with a green towel, the bathroom door locked with water running from behind the wall, clothes and weapons strewn haphazardly around the room. Sora suddenly rushed in from the Red Room, a yellow strap in his teeth as he tried to work his glove onto his fingers. He glanced at Kairi, seeing her sit up, and waved sheepishly as more confused yelling came from the other room.

"Morning!"

Kairi smiled uncertainly, suddenly hearing Cloud on the balcony connecting the two rooms from the outside, feeling rumbling in the floor as he attacked the Heartless nearby.

"Hey Kairi, if you want your shower to actually be hot, you'd better jump in there right after Leon's done before someone else does," Yuffie said, taking a brush to her dark hair.

Kairi pushed the covers off and slid off the bed, treading carefully across Sora's rumpled mattress right beside it on the floor. He had sat himself down on the edge of it to pull on his sneakers. When no one was looking, including Donald, who was now peering out the door and tapping his webbed foot, she kneeled down and stole a kiss from a rather sleepy and quite surprised Sora. He grinned dazedly, earning a laugh from Kairi as a crash in the next room told them Cloud was back inside.

Aerith bustled in, her arms full of laundry. "Oh...morning, Kairi. Sleep well?"

"Yup!" Kairi said, straightening up and stifling a yawn. "What's the rush?"

"We overslept," Sora answered her from somewhere around her knees, tugging on his other sneaker. "Some Heartless destroyed the phone line to our room last week and they haven't gotten a service guy yet, so we didn't get the wakeup call."

"Plus Cid came by earlier to let us know he'd gotten a transmission over in the Accessory Shop. It didn't say what world, but it was addressed to us and it sounds like it might be somebody we know," Yuffie said, tying her black sash around her forehead.

"Somebody we know?" Kairi asked, her curiosity peaked. "What did it say?"

"Just something like...'Coming to Traverse Town, attn. Keyblade master and friends, urgent news,'" Yuffie said, shrugging. "Could be anyone."

"Yeah, well it better be a certain someone, or I'm gonna have to chew him out later," Sora said gruffly, putting his hands on his knees and looking up at Kairi. She bit her lip and nodded, sitting down next to him.

After dinner the night before, the group had squeezed their way through the bustling crowds once again to make their way to the hotel in the second district...and upon arriving in their rooms, were so exhausted that they'd crashed almost immediately. Aerith had walked into the Green Room a few minutes after arriving to find Leon, Yuffie, Sora, and Kairi sprawled haphazardly, fast asleep, across the big green bed before housekeeping had even brought the cots by. Coupled with Donald's loud squawking, she'd only managed to wake them up long enough to get them to stumble into their beds before they immediately dropped off again.

Sora looked at Kairi meaningfully, his blue eyes hard. She knew he had questions--ones he hadn't had a chance to ask in all the chaos the day before. She nodded her understanding.

"Kairi, when you've showered, just give me your nightclothes and I'll take them to housekeeping," Aerith said, disappearing out the door.

Donald put his hands on his hips as the door closed behind Aerith. "What's the big idea? I'm getting hungry!"

Yuffie bounded over to the door by the balcony, having disappeared behind a screen in the corner to put on her clothes moments before. She craned her neck to look up at the sky, her fingers pressed against the glass.

"Still no dice," she said petulantly. "I hoped, every day I spent in this room the last time we were here, that one morning the sun would randomly decide to come out."

"That would just be weird," Sora said, grinning. "The sun, in Traverse Town?"

"Don't you miss it, though?" Yuffie said, turning back. "If you had to spend nine years here, you'd get sick of the dark too."

"Yeah, probably…"

"I have to wonder why Axel wanted us to come _here_, of all places," Kairi said. "Everybody's packed in like sardines, it's depressing thinking of _why _most of the people in this town ended up here, _and _the guy's in the Organization."

"It sucks things had to happen the way they did," Yuffie huffed, plopping down on the mattress beside Sora and Kairi. "Now we're sitting ducks, in the middle of a town that at least one of those guys knows we're in…and we can't do a damn thing about it until we figure out what's going on."

"If he's in the Organization," Leon said from the corner suddenly, making the others start. "…why did he even bother showing his face to us? If he hadn't, we would probably still be sitting in that library waiting, and the two guys who showed up would've gotten Aerith and Kairi."

Sora and Kairi looked at each other.

"Well…" Sora said slowly. "I guess the last place you'd expect to find a group bent on fighting the darkness…would be in a town on the edge of it."

"Exactly," Leon said, standing up. "If we ever see that guy again, I have a few questions to ask him…"

"I still don't like this," Yuffie griped. "Maybe he's working alone. Maybe that's what he _wants_ us to think and he'll be back later…"

"Meaning he's still an unknown quantity at this point," Leon said after a second's mulling over Yuffie's point.

_Unknown quantity…_

"_I'm still an unknown quantity at this point, Kairi. Don't let me fool you."_

Kairi shifted uncomfortably. Sora noticed the slight movement, and opened his mouth to speak, but Donald chose that exact moment to burst back through the door, nearly losing his webbed footing under four trays full of steaming hot room service.

* * *

At that moment, Riku could really do without Roxas looking at him out of the corner of his eye as if he were about to spontaneously combust.

He couldn't really blame him. The attack had come entirely out of the blue this time…not a hint or warning, before black fingers crept into his vision and the darkness took him hostage while his other self used his mouth to speak, his eyes to see…his body to further plans that Riku himself was trying to hamper.

It wasn't something the average person could watch happen and _not _be afraid of him.

The silence was driving him insane, though, so he waited until he was sure there were no obstacles in their flight path before he casually kicked his feet up onto the dashboard, letting his heel conveniently come down on the manual switch.

The ship nosedived, thankfully hitting nothing but dead space while both boys shouted and scrambled to regain control. Riku casually passed a hand over the switch he'd bumped, and soon the ship locked onto the invisible horizon once again.

"What _was _that?" Roxas blurted out, looking at Riku.

Riku didn't let him see it, but he half-grinned. So Roxas couldn't hold a grudge for more than ten minutes, either…just like—

"I dunno, it was probably me. Sorry," Riku replied. The momentary diversion had worked.

"So…" Roxas began uncertainly, flicking his blond bangs out of his eyes. "I feel like it's kinda pointless to ask, but what now?"

"Well, we're gonna go bail him out, duh."

"Axel?!"

"No, your mom."

Roxas looked at him incredulously for a moment, then snorted. "All right, but where do we even start to look?"

"I think, before anything else," Riku said slowly. "We…should probably check in with DiZ."

"What would he know?"

"He's 'keeping an eye' on the mansion for them," Riku said, quoting his fingers in midair. "He's so cryptic, the Organization doesn't really know whether to trust him or not. Good thing they're idiots and they just do it anyway."

"That seems like a horribly bad idea…"

"It's reverse psychology. They figure they're a lot more hardcore than they actually are, and they _also _figure he's an old geezer and can't do shit to stop them."

Roxas couldn't find anything to say to that. His previous experience with DiZ spoke quite clearly to the fact that he was more than capable of whatever plans he had in mind.

"In any case, we should head to Twilight Town. I know Axel's tougher than he looks, but I still don't like this…" Riku said, his voice flat.

Roxas swallowed hard. "Yeah…"

Both had to admit, even though it seemed like they'd just met, Axel's absence in the ship was weighing heavily in the air. It felt as if they'd lost the only person entirely sure of what was going on…or made it seem like he did, anyway. And neither of them liked the feeling.

* * *

"I gotta warn ya, it ain't the most exciting transmission in the world," Cid said, half through the cigarette in his teeth.

He slammed the 'play' button with his knuckle, and the ratty old radio on the counter in the Accessory Shop began to sputter out a message.

_Greetings, Traverse Town, this message is directed toward a resident, a certain Keyblade Master…Sora?...yes, Sora. I have here with me a lovely young messenger from Olympus, who will be arriving within the next couple of days. For…er, security purposes, we will refrain from saying any more, now. Please tell your—what? Oh, a certain Cid Highwind to be on the lookout for a rather magnificent ship, if I do say so myself, the Strahl—_

A brief scuffle over the microphone.

_Listen, we're heading there soon. Don't go anywhere, kid, all right?_

The last voice to speak, much unlike the heavily-accented male voice that began the transmission, was a sarcastic female voice that Sora could swear he'd heard before.

"See?" Cid said, stopping the transmission. "And, can't really shake the feeling it's just a tiny bit shady."

"Olympus…Olympus…" Goofy said, tapping his foot. "Gawrsh, who do we know from there?"

As if on cue, there was a soft knock on the door.

"It's open!" Cid said gruffly. "Geez, it's a shop, you just waltz right in…"

A thin figure pushed the door open with surprising strength, a shawl over the head and face.

"Sorry," the figure began, turning around. A woman. "Is this Cid's place?"

"Who's askin'?" Cid said from behind the counter, looking mildly alarmed. Sora stood up from the couch.

The woman reached up to pull the shawl off her head, hanging it on her arm. Her brown hair fell, slightly frizzed from the trip, pulled up in a high ponytail that reached all the way down her back. She wore a purple dress, the straps held up by small gold pendants.

"Phil sent me," she said, cocking a smart grin. "Name's Megara. My friends call me Meg. I think we sent word ahead."

"Phil?" Sora said suddenly. "As in, Philoctetes?"

"That's the one," Meg said, crossing her arms. "And I think you're the one I'm looking for. Brown hair, blue eyes…mm, that'll be you, spiky. Thought I recognized you."

Sora pointed at himself confusedly. "You're looking for me?"

"Yep. Wonderboy said if anyone could help us out with this, it'll be the Keyblade master. You're not an easy kid to track down, 's a shame we didn't know to nab you while you were still on Olympus."

"Wonderboy?" Kairi questioned, smiling. The thought struck her that she could probably tease Sora with this one later…

"Hercules," Meg said pointedly, leaning almost seductively over the fireplace. "I'm a friend of his."

"So what's the problem?"

"Well…the truth is--"

Another knock on the door.

"What was my substitute doing while I was away?" Cid asked, throwing his hands up. "Tryin' to impose a politeness rule for comin' into the shop?"

Meg, being closest to the door, reached for the handle and pulled it open. In strode a tall, handsome man with dusty-colored hair wearing an intricately decorated leather vest over a loose white shirt, along with the strangest woman Kairi had ever seen in her life—she was human in face and stature, but she was dressed in what could only be described as a…_provocative_…manner and sported two long, dark, rabbit-like ears that nearly brushed the ceiling.

"Ah, so you found him," the man said, his face brightening when he found Meg attached to the doorknob. "I'll tell you one thing, I've seen a lot of towns, but this one is a smidge too close to overflowing for comfort."

Meg sighed and shut the door behind the bizarre pair. "Spiky, these are the people I've been flying around with. They were visiting and I hitched a ride."

"It's Balthier," the sky pirate said, bowing low over one bejeweled hand and putting the other up in a flourish. "A pleasure. And this stunning viera would be Fr--"

His partner had biffed him lightly over the head, before resuming her position of cool disinterest and regarding the group sprawled over the couches. "My name is Fran. Honored."

Balthier straightened up, a crooked smile on his face as he casually rubbed the spot his partner had smacked.

"Like I was _saying_," Meg resumed, boosting herself up onto the counter and sitting rather primly, a stark contrast to her manner of speech. "We've been checking quite a few places for you, kid, and I don't especially like what we found."

Donald and Goofy looked at one another.

"…what's wrong?" Sora asked, his demeanor darkening.

"Three of the places we visited, as far as I know, were homes of three Princesses of Heart," she began.

Kairi's stomach clenched.

"And?"

"…Sora, they were completely ravaged. Three of the Princesses have been taken."

"_What?!_"

Sora tensed where he stood. Kairi thought she saw his hand involuntarily inch over to block her from the others' view.

"And it is not as if they simply took the hostages and left," Fran said solemnly. "I could not sense a single living thing in the areas where the Princesses should have been."

Kairi felt sick. She clutched involuntarily at her necklace, swallowing hard. _Then…Belle and…_

"They also seem to have let Heartless loose to clean up anything they may've left untouched," Balthier said, all laughter gone from his eyes. "I've never seen so many in one place."

Sora's back was to the others, his expression obscured. Donald took a couple tentative steps toward him.

"Sora…" he said. "What should we do?"

He was silent for a moment. The tension hung heavy in the air, the only sound being the muffled chatter of the crowds outside the windows.

He turned around.

"I…don't _know_ what we should do."

Contrary to his normal look of cheerful confidence, Sora now looked entirely lost. His hands hung limp at his sides. Cid looked at him warily.

"I honestly…" he ventured again, looking at Kairi. "I know…that it seems like I should have all the answers, but…it's hard to know what to do anymore. It's like we can't be sure of anything."

Goofy looked morosely at the visitors. "We're not even sure if Sora's best friend is on our side, y'see. Things've been…really hard to figure out."

Sora's fists clenched.

"I'm the Keyblade master, but…for once, I don't…"

He sighed, closing his eyes and sagging.

"I know the worlds expect me to know exactly what to do…but…I'm just a kid."

By the time he looked up, Kairi was suddenly by his side, her arms wrapped gently around him.

* * *

_When Yuffie wandered restlessly out the Green Room's back door after a nice leisurely nap, Cloud and Leon having headed out to ask around for information, she nearly shouted for help._

_Aerith was standing stock-still on the Red Room's side of the balcony, her hands white-knuckling the railing. Her eyes were to the sky, her hair taken out of its bow, her eyes bright and face pale. _

"_Aerith?" Yuffie ventured, alarmed. "Aerith, what's the matter?"_

"_I…I just realized," she said, sounding scared out of her wits. "Where it is. It all makes sense now."_

"_Where what is?" Yuffie implored, latching on to Aerith's arm, at least glad she was speaking. "Wait, you mean…all that stuff about you being the Muse…?"_

"_Yuffie," Aerith said, suddenly looking at her and grasping her wrist tightly. "Get Sora, right now. If I'm right, which I'm pretty sure I am, it might already be too late."_

* * *

Next update to come very soon! Thank you so much for sticking with me, and **please leave a review**! Feedback is awesome.


	28. The Ultimatum

_Author's Note: _Whee! Happy New Year, everyone! Hope everybody had a great holiday season and first half of the school year.

Well, I'm back, finally, with chapter 28. I had to do some reworking of the outline, and it took me a while to figure out exactly how things would pan out from here on in. But…weird as it is to think…the end of this story is in sight. A few more chapters, and this dealio is FINISHED.

Wah. Then what'll I do with myself? xD Sorry for the lateness of this, again. This semester was craaaazy. But I did finish up with a 3.8 GPA, my best yet!

Hope you enjoy chapter 28! More to come soonish…promise not as much of a delay, next time.

* * *

Chapter 28: The Ultimatum

Somehow, deep down, Roxas knew there was something off about his hometown.

There was always a bitter, metallic taste in the air around the mansion, and to a lesser degree permeating the rest of the town—an odd, tangible uneasiness that suggested something…_rotten…_at its core.

Roxas and Riku stood in the dim computer room staring incredulously at the door that led to—

"The world of the Nobodies…The World that Never Was."

DiZ sat in front of a multitude of screens, not looking at the boys. The dank feel about the room made him look even more ghastly, if it was possible. His sole visible eye, amber and piercing, now reflected cyan-green in the glow of the computer, chilling Roxas when he glanced back at him.

"And he's…he's there? You're sure?"

"I watched them drag him through here myself," DiZ said soullessly.

The unspoken question hung in the air as the boys stood, hardly daring to breathe.

DiZ turned then, fist clenched atop the keyboard.

"…you'd best hurry."

* * *

They stood before the oscillating portal, and Riku thought his heartbeat could be echoing off the walls; it was beating so painfully fast against his chest.

_This could ruin everything, if I don't—_

Roxas seemed to square himself, and took a firm first step toward the hole in the air in front of them, but suddenly Riku's hand locked around his upper arm.

"…Riku?"

It was the first time he'd addressed what had happened in the gummi ship, and it was breaking him on the inside to have to admit what he was about to, but…if he didn't do it now, he might never get a chance to keep the promises he'd made.

"I, uh...I haven't been totally honest."

Roxas looked at him blankly. "Riku, is this really the best time to—"

"Just...will...will you be quiet for a minute so I can get this out?"

Roxas waited with bated breath, trying to ignore the impossibly hard grip Riku had on his arm.

"Th--they think I'm an unofficial member. That I'm just a tagalong, since their thirteen members are already set in stone. I wasn't supposed to let Xigbar know that I…"

Riku tried again. "The truth is…I'm…_I'm_ their Superior."

Roxas had gathered as much from the incident with Xigbar. But it was just a cover, wasn't it? He was a double agent, simply of the highest rank, wasn't he? Why did Riku feel the need to tell him this now?

"In that deep, huh?"

Riku couldn't meet his eyes, but he shook his head. "That's not it. It's not me who's the Superior. It's…it's the damn darkness in my heart. It's Ansem."

Roxas did move then, a memory that wasn't his flashing through his mind with such swift and sudden terror, he flinched. "He…he's not gone, like we thought?"

"No. He's not. Axel knew about this, from what he heard from DiZ. The thing is…they both expected me to have gotten rid of him by now. I just…I couldn't figure out how, and if I…if I stop fighting against him for even one second, if I let my guard down, I…I don't think I'll be able to get myself back next time."

It had all come out in one rambling breath, but sounded like an even more frightening thought to him the moment he voiced it. Riku suddenly let go of Roxas' arm, loosening his grip almost apologetically. He winced, gritting his teeth. He had far too much responsibility resting on his shoulders to give in to what his stinging eyes told him he was about to do…

_I have to get rid of him, before I can face Sora and Kairi again. But I don't think I'm strong enough…_

"Roxas…if you see me start to change again, I want you to…"

Roxas' eyes widened and he took a step back. Riku didn't even need to finish his sentence, but he let his eyes drift up to meet the younger boy's. The silence that followed rang shrill in Roxas' ears. He…no, he couldn't possibly be asking him to…

"…I understand," he said, willing his voice not to break. But it wasn't consent.

…the lie tasted bitter in his mouth. But if it would set Riku at ease enough to help them move forward, he'd deal with it later if he had to. The older boy's brow loosened, and Roxas couldn't believe that this could be a comfort to _anyone_, but Riku gave him a rare grin and looked toward the portal. He stepped toward it with that confident strut, and Roxas tentatively followed, thoughts whirling.

There was_ always_ a way to reach down into the darkness and drag the light back out, no matter what it took…he had to believe so, at least.

* * *

"…the endless abyss?"

"That's right," Aerith said. "Directly across from Kingdom Hearts, the most dangerous possible place for those two things to be. I don't even think the Organization knows how very easy their plans could end up being, if things go their way."

"What does that mean?" Kairi asked, eyes round.

"It means…there's only one place for everyone to convene. Meaning, the area between the doors to light and darkness."

Sora didn't say anything, looking at the floor, frowning, remembering the snow-capped paths in space that had emerged out of nowhere. The final battleground…

"So everyone's going to be trying to get to their own ends in the same place, at the same time," Yuffie muttered, leaned over her knees sitting next to Kairi. "And if the bastards time it right…?"

"…they could open Kingdom Hearts again, and we're all screwed," Sora finished.

Silence rang in the Green Room. Leon was leaned against the door to the Red Room, arms crossed. The others sat on the edge of the bed, Aerith standing with hands wrung and pacing beside them.

"And…if what Meg and the others said is true, the other Princesses are being captured, if they aren't already," Kairi said, swallowing hard. Sora's hand slid over to rest on top of hers.

"So…where the hell do we even _start_?" Leon asked in a monotone.

At that moment, there was an urgent rap on the door. Aerith, already in a slight tizzy, broke out of her pacing to answer it. She gasped as she pulled it open.

Donald and Goofy both jumped out of their seat, eyes popping.

"YOUR MAJESTY—?!"

* * *

Rain smacked the wet pavement in a relentless crescendo of noise that Roxas really could've done without.

They were close, he knew—Riku had nearly retched the moment they passed through the portal. If a Nobody like Roxas could sense this pressing darkness, he had a feeling he probably would've done the same…yellow eyes surrounded him, embedded in the walls, reflected in the puddles on the ground, lying in wait.

_Oh, just come after me, already,_ Roxas thought, lip curling, his senses peaked.

They seemed hesitant, oddly. It seemed strange…Heartless, in the world of the Nobodies? Perhaps the unbalance of the worlds was throwing them off as much as it was the humans.

_Memory's Skyscraper._

Roxas didn't know what god he was praying to, but he was imploring whoever it was to let Axel hold on until they could get to him. But he felt sick thinking of what they might have already…

He plodded through the puddles on the ground, hood drawn, emptyhanded. The Heartless were beginning to follow him now, keeping a slight distance away.

Roxas couldn't figure out the odd vibe he was getting…a tingling in his fingers, a hypersensitivity to the space around him. The rain hitting the pavement was echoing in his ears as if he were standing under a waterfall. It was too loud. And yet, over the crushing noise, he could swear he heard the padding tentacles and feet of the shadow Heartless behind him, no matter how quietly they were slinking along.

_Something so natural—_

He knew he was in front of the building before he even looked up. The lurid neon lights of the city illuminated the square just enough so he could see the ground around him, but it didn't matter…the same way he could hear every scratch and drip around him, he had an odd sense of his surroundings he couldn't quite place.

_Maybe…maybe this is what it means to be a Nobody in the world of the Nobodies._

If that was the case…something in his core warmed and spread, filling him with a spark of adrenaline that made his grin grow wider.

He flexed his fists, then flared his fingers, and the comforting weight of both his Keyblades came into his grasp. He tensed, bending his knees. The Heartless surrounded him now, antennae twitching, waiting for him to make the first move.

He had never seen Heartless like these before…they were like enhanced versions of the shadows he often trod underfoot, the weakest of all the varieties. Their stubby arms and legs were instead extended and muscular, and their tiny antennae were long and crooked, sparks of electricity spiraling around and between them. It was disconcerting, but all the same, Roxas couldn't explain the strange confidence he felt…

_Another side, another story._

He did move then, sliding his body weight over his left foot and kicking out his right, bending low and slicing Oathkeeper in a swift horizontal strike, and just like that, the three Heartless closest to him were dissolving into shadow.

He gave a derisive snicker. This _was_ going to be easier than he thought. The power coursing through him was a little unnerving, but he sure as hell was going to take advantage of it while it was there.

The Heartless snapped out of their frozen state, a dozen or perhaps more leaping into the air, staggering their takeoff so that Roxas was suddenly staring up at a cascade of them falling toward him, claws extended. He snapped his chin up, got the closest one in his sights, planted his feet and swiveled around in a whirling attack, hitting it first with Oblivion and then Oathkeeper. Before the next one could come down, he flipped Oblivion in his hand, grasping it backhanded. With a sudden, distracted desire to test this world's atmosphere again, he tensed downward and pushed off from the ground with all the strength he could muster.

It worked. He flew into the air higher than he could've thought possible, the rain smacking his face, every drop like a spark on a live wire. He sliced wildly, the momentum turning him in a full three-sixty, slicing the still-airborne Heartless. Some didn't succumb to his first strike, and one landed on his back as he felt himself falling back to the ground headfirst. He kicked the air and swung himself over, planting his feet as he came back to earth, the shock coursing into his legs as the Heartless lost its grip. He turned again, surrounded, carving his way into the crowd.

Lightning struck then, illuminating the swarm around him. It had grown since last he looked…or sensed.

He had to get out of the middle…he drew in a breath sharply, suddenly aware of the burning in his chest. It was going to tire him out far too quickly, having to watch his own back.

Testing his luck again, he pushed off from the ground again, swinging his legs over him in a half-flip, aiming for the staircase of the skyscraper looming over them. He came to his feet again, skidding backwards along the smooth stone. Amazing. This world really _was_ making things possible for him he'd never imagined before.

The Heartless seemed stunned for a moment, some that had just been contemplating him in the center of the swarm still twitching back and forth, trying to figure out where he'd gone.

He took their momentary distraction to look up. Despite the darkness, he could see straight up the building, to the oscillating shadow of a cloak billowing in the harsh wind around the summit.

Riku was gazing out over the city, boots planted partially extended over the edge of the roof. The wind was making him unsteady. He remained as dead still as he could manage, waiting.

Even over the howling rain and wind, Roxas could hear the whisper drift through the air and reach his ears…

_The top floor. The Heartless are just a distraction._

_Then…what should we do?_

_Get up here, Roxas. I can take care of the deadbeats down there._

_But—_

_Xigbar's skulking around here somewhere. If he catches me, they're not gonna let me go. Hurry up._

A beat.

Without any real conscious thought, Roxas got a running start, then leapt to press both feet against one of the columns of the entrance archway. He pushed off, alternating and leaping off the other, until he was running up the building as if he were on autopilot. His senses were on fire, lights bursting in his vision, his legs carrying him with an ease he was sure would catch up with him later. Ligaments cracked and popped, his muscles burned, but it was as if someone had flipped off the switch that triggered pain in his mind.

…but the Heartless were _following him._

"Get out of my _way_!" Roxas shouted, shattering the silence at last. The Heartless materialized around him with every step, emerging out of the side of the building and heading him off. He cross-sliced them impatiently, his legs still carrying him at that terrifying rate.

He was approaching the top of the building now, his gait slowing just a hair to make the transition onto the huge television screen that was broadcasting static to the still city. He reared back, making eye contact—well, staring into the blindfold—with Riku before tossing the Keyblade to him in a lethal-looking boomerang throw. But Riku was ready.

Roxas didn't have time to gasp as Riku leapt fearlessly off the building, reaching out to grab the blade and stop its whirling spiral through the air. Roxas couldn't feel his body anymore, just followed Riku with his eyes as he streamlined and went into a headlong freefall down the front of the building. But he tore his eyes away as he hit the top of the building, Oathkeeper disappearing as he reached out with both gloved hands to catch the ledge and vaulted himself up onto it, legs sprawling wide and his upper half tensed over to steady himself.

He could still feel the beating his body had taken trying to reach his senses, but he didn't have time for that. Still riding the wave of unnatural power sweeping through him, he turned tail and swung open the door in the building's peak, and disappeared down the staircase.

Riku heard the door slam from his spot on the front staircase to the building, the shock of the fall still coursing up into his feet and legs. The rain was heavier and colder, here on the ground. But he slid his left leg forward, raising the Keyblade to hold it tensed over his right shoulder, left hand thrust out to steady him. He curled his index finger in twice, taunting the swarm around him, eyes hidden beneath black cloth.

…_come and get me._

_

* * *

  
_

_Roxas plodded out onto the front steps of the skyscraper, blood in his eyes and in his hair. He blinked hard, trying to clear his vision. He was certainly feeling the effects of the past couple of hours in his legs now; the frightening power-surge had passed._

"_S-s-slower than usual, aren't ya, Roxas?" Axel slurred, one of his long thin arms slung over Roxas' shoulder as he pulled them both along. He had dark circles around his eyes, and dried blood was trailing out from the right corner of his lips. Roxas shifted to hold the taller man farther off the ground._

"_Yeah," he said, smiling a little despite himself. "You're not in the greatest shape, yourself."_

_Axel laughed at that, a rasping sound that didn't do much to assuage Roxas' fears that despite him claiming he was all right, he would make it back to DiZ before passing out._

"_Sorry I'm s-so heavy. I'm usually not this much of a pussy. But I just—"_

"_It's fine. You don't need to explain."_

_Axel was silent for a moment. They were nearly back to the corner they needed to turn to get to the portal._

"…_did you kill him?"_

_Roxas tried to swallow, but his throat was too dry._

"_Yeah," he rasped out. "Yeah, I think I did."_

_Axel could feel the boy shaking._

"_Hey. Don't freak out. D-Demyx was a…c-complete bastard anyway…"_

_His legs gave out then, and he nearly took Roxas down with him. But the boy stopped, letting Axel lean against him while he tried to unzip the long leather coat as far as he could, and took hold of the taller man's belt to hoist him up a bit farther. He moved forward with renewed haste, still blinking the rain and blood out of his eyes._

_Just a little farther…just a little farther._

_Until it occurred to him…Riku hadn't been waiting for them when they'd emerged._

_

* * *

_Eh heh heh! Sorry for this cliffhanger. More to come soon! **Reviews much appreciated!**


	29. Always On My Mind

_Author's Note:_ LOL. Okay, wow. I hope you'll all still talk to me, haha. It's a Saturday evening, early 2011, and I'm sitting down to take a stab at this story for the first time in around two years. I know that those of you who have been keeping up have seen my various author's notes—what with illness/death in the family, the insanity of junior year of college, diving headfirst into the cosplay community (hurr hurr), and in general a bit of disinterest with Kingdom Hearts (I didn't fall out of love, I promise! I only got distracted by other fandoms)—I just couldn't find the drive to continue the story. However, unlike my one LotR story that basically ended with no warning, _this_ story is beyond special to me. I wouldn't ever leave this one unfinished.

So, without further ado, I really hope you'll enjoy the continuation of TTIF. To all of those just now discovering it…congrats, you just avoided an insanely long wait. xD To all of those who've been here since the beginning, or at least for a while, I hope you'll accept my apology. I love you guys!

To my dear Kikofreako, especially…even if we've lost touch, the fact that every once in a while I get a notification that "Espy" has updated is probably the main reason that I'm back now. You've been a great source of inspiration to me, and a freakin' wellspring of praise and encouragement in continuing, that I feel as if I have to dedicate the remainder of TTIF solely to you. It wouldn't be where it is now if it wasn't for your involvement in the story, and the fact you're still around. Cheers to you!

HEAVEN OR HELL, LET'S ROCK.

* * *

Chapter 29: Always On My Mind

"…_come and get me."_

_Ha. If the Organization thought their newly engineered Neo-Shadows were any kind of improvement, they needed a reality check. Riku sliced his right foot through the air, feeling it connect with one of the creatures—it succumbed as quickly as if he'd swatted a fly. He followed the momentum and his left leg roundhoused with him. Three more. Too easy._

_Ah, well. This was getting dull._

_Out came Soul Eater, along with Oblivion, and seven more shadows melted into the rainwater beneath him. Plant. Swing. Jump. Dodge._

_They were falling like the rain now, barely materializing before he destroyed them with lazy flicks of his wrists. The storm wasn't letting up, the noise rising in his ears until he was in an almost hypnotic state. Plant. Swing. Jump. Dodge._

_Plant. Swing…_

"_Riku!"_

_The voice cracked the night like lightning. No one had spoken since they'd passed through the portal. The rain had risen to prominence in his head, and the word was so loud that he jumped. He whipped around._

_A short, leather-clad figure was running toward him full-tilt, from the direction they'd come earlier._

"_Riku! Wait a sec!"_

_He'd know that voice anywhere._

"_Your Majesty?"_

"_We gotta scram, kiddo! What're ya doin' here, anyway?"_

_The Shadows were even less of a problem for Mickey. He didn't even break stride, just swept them aside like he was combing through high grass._

_The presence of the two in the middle of the square seemed to make the Shadows think twice about approaching. Both appeared relaxed, but held their Keyblades akimbo to increase their radius of peace in the center of the chaos. The Shadows twitched and buzzed, clicked, giving them a wide berth, waiting for either to let their guard down to strike._

"_I could ask you the same thing," Riku countered, relief dawning on his face._

"_Well…that…" Mickey tried. "…we'll get to that, later. We gotta get our behinds outta here. What's the big idea, anyway?"_

_Riku jerked a thumb upward to the television on top of the tower. Mickey stared intently, thoughtfully, and seemed to understand._

"_Will they be all right?"_

"_The way Roxas looked? They'd be stupid not to stay out of his way."_

_That seemed to satisfy Mickey. As if it were decided, he turned, making the Heartless start, and the berth widened. Riku stayed where he was._

_After a moment, he turned._

"_Aren'tcha comin'?"_

"_Where are we going?"_

"_Back to our friends. Y'know, Riku…_we_ were the fools not to stay with them all along."_

_Riku stood rooted to the spot, expression unreadable. He'd gone pale._

_Mickey squared himself before the boy again, putting his hands on his hips. "Y'know, Riku…the big difference between us, and _them_, is that even if you screwed up, no one's gonna punish you for what you've done, no matter how bad it is."_

_Riku's lip twitched._

"_Do ya really think that your best friends in all the worlds combined, wouldn't take you back in a heartbeat?"_

_But the teenager was already plodding toward him, defeated._

"…_I just suck at saying I'm sorry. And I've got a hell of a lot of that to do."_

_Mickey gave him an amiable pat on the arm when he caught up, and together they strode back toward the portal._

"_Welcome back, old pal."_

* * *

DiZ did not look as if Axel's sorry state was of any surprise to him.

"Hurry, upstairs," he motioned, hastening to Axel's other side to help Roxas heft him up into the library. Roxas was shocked that the old voice that emanated from the red wrappings belied such strength; with his help, Axel was easy to pull along, although his consciousness was drifting in and out by the time they reached the second stairwell up to the old mansion's main floor.

Namine was standing by the door, and Roxas saw her wince at the blood at Axel's mouth and in his own hair. She hurriedly beckoned them into the adjacent room, where they laid the injured man on a sofa covered hurriedly with an old sheet.

Roxas couldn't help but hover over the redhead. What if he'd wasted too much time with the Heartless below the skyscraper? What if they'd treated Axel worse because Roxas had somehow betrayed his switching-sides? What if he'd spent too long sparring with Demyx when he really should've grabbed Axel and ran-?

Axel let out a drawn-out groan then, making Roxas jump, but relief washed over him.

"_Shiiiiit_, I am…in some serious g-goddamn pain right now," he complained gruffly, gingerly lifting an arm as his eyes fluttered open. "Hey Red, you got anything that could knock me out for a while?"

"While I would love the chance to shut off that childish whining for a while to clear my _own_ headache, I'm afraid we need you conscious for this," DiZ said stiffly, but Namine was already casting a small cure spell on him.

"That's so strange…the spell can't find any open wounds," Namine murmured. "What did they do to you…?"

"Heh. I can't even remember. Hurts like hell, in any event."

"Don't die," Roxas said, somewhat dumbly, frowning. His head was in a fog, and rather than trying to catch up with all that had happened the past several hours, he was finding himself getting more and more bitter and frustrated, for no reason he could put a finger on.

"I don't die that easily, but thanks for your concern, kid."

Namine looked at Roxas in concern. He avoided her gaze. Anger was bubbling up, hot and unpleasant, in his gut, and he had to get out before he exploded.

"This is stupid," Roxas groaned, standing up. "I'm turning myself in."

He strode decidedly past them toward the door in the ringing silence that followed. But as he reached for the doorknob, Axel's arm lashed out from the spot where he lay, and caught him across the ribs, holding him back.

"What are you doing?" Roxas asked, glaring at the redhead and trying to pry the arm off his front. "Let me go!"

"I can't do that, kid," Axel said, still wincing, but his voice laced with anger.

"Don't you get it, Axel?" Roxas said bitingly. "They're sunk either if I'm still around, or if they can't round up all the Princesses. One or the other. Since they seem to be doing a pretty good job at the princess thing, I can get them to stop by turning myself in."

DiZ stood up in a rustle of fabric.

"Roxas, you speak utter nonsense," he said imperiously.

"No, I don't!" the blonde retorted, tearing away from Axel and wheeling around. "Sora at least knows where the door is, doesn't he? We've got that much. And the Princesses are in danger. If they can get rid of me, they'll leave them alone-Kairi and the others."

DiZ then did something unexpected. He laughed.

Roxas bristled. "What's so funny?"

DiZ chuckled heartily, shaking his masked head.

"Roxas," he began, his voice losing its mirth. "Do you really consider yourself that immaterial? The Organization would not be satisfied with simply eliminating you...your death would mean nothing. Besides, now that enough information has emerged, they have been letting you go free because Sora cannot open either door without you."

"C'mon, kid," Axel said, a softness in his face Roxas had never seen before. "...why do you think the Organization left Hollow Bastion with you and me still there?"

Roxas opened his mouth to speak, but then looked blankly at the redhead.

"They'd figured out who you were by then. Sora's Nobody," Axel explained, the frown returning. "They were gonna get rid of you then and there. I convinced 'em to let you have one last hurrah and capture their Princess for them."

Roxas' face softened as he realized what Axel was about to say.

"I saved your life back there, kid. And...unfortunately, their asses too, but I didn't know it then."

Roxas glanced at DiZ, who nodded curtly, one golden eye surveying him.

"Why?" Roxas asked, feigning an emotionless tone.

"Because," Axel said, shrugging. "I told you I had your back, didn't I? Didn't want a nice kid like you to meet such a sticky end. And just now you were going to walk out that door and undo all the crap I went through to save you?"

The words hit Roxas so hard he nearly staggered. He looked to the floor, feeling his face burning up.

"...th-thanks," he said quietly. "Axel, you...you didn't have to do that."

"No, I did," Axel said, crossing his arms again. "It's common decency. And you're not too bad, kid."

He grinned. Roxas returned it sheepishly.

"Answer my original question, however, Roxas," DiZ said. "Do you honestly see yourself as immaterial to this war? An expendable commodity, something we could throw away if it became troublesome?"

Roxas was silent for a moment. He crossed his arms, avoiding the elder's eyes.

"...I'm just a Nobody, aren't I? A shell. No one would miss me."

For a change, Roxas sensed something other than stiff formality emnating from the man before him. It more resembled pity. Roxas didn't like it; a scowl twisted his face.

"...Roxas," DiZ began. "That may be, but the fact that you owe your existence to Sora is not relevant. We cannot control that. The boy made a sacrifice...brave, yes, but rather foolish...and from that act was born a body, his own, deprived of his heart. You."

Roxas jerked his head in annoyance. "I know."

"That act was a mark of greatness...proof the Keyblade chose a selfless hero to wield its power. Sora was a marked man from the beginning, even if the Keyblade passed to him when it was supposed to be Riku's burden-"

Roxas looked up. "Riku?" he repeated, incredulous.

"Yes, but it is beside the point," DiZ said, seating himself back down. "You are the remains, the literal, physical left-behind of a fourteen year old boy who acted beyond his years...a hero. You think your status as a Nobody removes you from the fact that you are, in essence, that person?"

Axel had closed his eyes and leaned against the wall, his arms crossed.

"...Sora is a boy marked with destiny. So why should you, of all people, his Nobody...not be marked with destiny too?"

Roxas looked like a lost child now, his eyes wide and attentive, looking up toward DiZ.

"...what are you saying?" he asked.

"I am saying, Roxas," DiZ replied, as if he had been expecting the question. "...that you have a part to play yet in this story. Losing half of Sora would be like losing all of him."

"What the old windbag here is trying to say, Roxas," Axel said, pushing off from the wall. "...is that even though you're just a shell, you're the Nobody of one hell of a kid. And that means you're just as much a bigshot as he is...you're going to save the worlds, just like he's destined to."

"You understand what is needed to close the door to darkness, do you not?" DiZ inquired, a gold eye flashing.

Roxas nodded. "I do."

"Well, kid," Axel said, grinning. "The same exact circumstances are required for the opening of the door to the light."

Roxas gaped, his eyes going round. "You mean..."

"A key on either side," DiZ answered his unspoken question. "Exactly."

"That...that means-"

"The lovely little world of Destiny Islands," Axel said, looking at Roxas pointedly. "Warm, sunny, unassuming...and you know, just so happens to house the Door to the Light."

Roxas said nothing, absorbing the words as he looked in shock at Axel's smug expression.

"So that means...that one of us has to go there, so we can open it from both sides?"

"That is exactly what it means," DiZ affirmed, sitting back down. "Which gives us the complication of moving beneath Organization XIII's radar. You see, Kairi is the seventh Princess of Heart, the one designated the Guardian of the Door to Light."

"Guardian?" Axel repeated, blinking.

"It was always foretold that the seven maidens with the power to open the door to darkness would have to elect one to be tasked with protecting the door to light," DiZ said, folding his hands and resting his chin on them. "Unfortunately, they were never brought together until the events almost two years ago, and Ansem had already taken the initiative to elect his own-when he sent Kairi to the Islands."

"Then he knew," Axel said suddenly, his crimson brows furrowing. "The bastard knew the door was there."

"No, he did not-if he had, there would be no reason to track down the Muse. He presumed if he had the boy fated to open the door, the rest would fall into place. Why do you think he went to all the trouble to draw Sora to the endless abyss?" DiZ intoned. "The Princesses had all been gathered in Hollow Bastion, and their power extracted by the sorceress Maleficent. The door to darkness had been opened, and all that remained was for Sora to travel to close it as soon as possible."

"He planned it?" Roxas said in awe. "He...he thought he was going to be able to use Sora..."

"A foolhardy decision, to be sure," DiZ said with a little chuckle. "Had Riku and his Majesty not been inside those doors, the light would never have been strong enough to escape and subdue him. Unfortunately, he took refuge the next best place-Riku's heart.

"Organization XIII had already been formed and was on the move, and was working on tracking down the Muse. You see, once Kingdom Hearts had opened and the Heartless flooded out, he planned to capture a defeated-but alive-Sora to open the Door to Light, as is the prophecy-and fulfill the dark purpose of the World Between, to use both doors to eradicate the other. He was going to hold him captive until such time as the Muse reasoned out the location. However, two pieces of Sora's heart were missing-you, Roxas, and the part of his heart that still now resides with Kairi, because of the sacrifice he made to restore her. So even if Ansem had been victorious, he would have forced Sora to find and open the Door to no avail. It would not have appeared no matter how badly he wanted it to."

"And who knows what he would have done with him then," Axel said, and Roxas was shocked to see a shudder pass briefly through his body. "That is one lucky kid."

"Indeed," DiZ said gruffly. "Now that we've had time to think and prepare, I do believe we have the knowledge to combat this fate."

"...how?"

"Well, Roxas...Sora can't open the Door without yours or Kairi's help. So, seeing as a hostile takeover of Destiny Islands is not within our best interest, she's going to have to go back there to protect the Door as best she can...and you're going to stay with her."

"I am? I…I am," Roxas said, swallowing hard.

"Namine," DiZ said, turning to the slight girl, who jumped at finally being addressed. "You need to go with Roxas to meet up with Sora and the others. They need a familiar face to explain this all to them. I'm sure his Majesty has taken care of at least some of it, but I think you'll be needed in any case."

"Right," she said, resolutely. She gave Roxas a small smile. He returned it tentatively.

"But…then, what will you two do?" Roxas asked.

Axel shot a look in DiZ's direction. The older man bowed his head slightly.

"Well. I'll see to it Axel gets back on his feet as soon as possible. We will hold down the fort here, should anyone from Organization XIII try to pass through. Even if all else fails, we should meet you at the final battleground."

Nothing about that sounded even vaguely promising, to Roxas. He was silent for a moment.

"…all right. I understand."

He turned to Axel. "Hey. I meant what I said. Don't die, okay?" He extended his hand to the redhead, who was now propped up on one elbow.

Axel grinned and reached to grasp Roxas' hand firmly, shaking it. "It's a promise, partner," he said. "Take care of Blondie there, all right?"

Namine glanced up at Roxas with that small smile again. Roxas tilted the corner of his mouth up in response, then let go of Axel's hand and pounded fists with him briefly. "You got it."

* * *

"_Your Majesty?_"

Donald and Goofy's exaggerated reaction satisfactorily conveyed the shockwave that went through the Green Room the moment the door had opened. Sora's stomach had dropped into his feet, he was fairly sure. He couldn't really be seeing what he was seeing.

"Hiya, fellas," the King said sheepishly, smiling and rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Boy, I'm glad to see ya. Things've been so chaotic that I wasn't even sure I'd find all of you together."

Donald and Goofy had rushed at their friend before he could continue, and smothered him in a loud tangle of limbs and exclamations. The tussle broke the rest of them out of their shocked reverie.

"Wait," Sora said. "If the King is here, then does that mean-"

Kairi met his eyes. They were both thinking the same thing.

"-Riku?" they said in unison, and Mickey noticed, as Goofy put him back down on the ground.

"..yep. He's with me. He's, ah…" the King tried, looking uncertainly back toward the door.

Sora and Kairi had both gotten up at once, and before anyone could stop them, they had both disappeared out the door.

Leon looked at Mickey. "Well…I guess, whatever you've got to tell them, can wait. Your Majesty, would you mind filling in some of the blanks for us?"

Mickey heaved a great sigh, and gave the room a sad smile. "I only wish I was the bringer of good news, ya know? But the good part is…we've got everyone together now, and more friends are coming soon."

"What's next?" Yuffie outburst. "I'm sick of sitting here and waiting! These bastards deserve an ass-kicking, there's princesses to be tracked down, and if what Aerith says is true, we're about two seconds from freaking Armageddon if we don't do something, now!"

"Yuffie!" Aerith said in surprise, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"I'm with her," Cid intoned from the corner, gripping his spear. "Just tell us where to go, Majesty, and we'll go with guns blazin'."

"What he said," Leon agreed.

"Your Majesty! We'll do whatever it takes!" Goofy said, snapping to a salute.

Mickey smiled broadly at everyone.

"Pack your bags, folks. We're moving this party to one heck of a spot."

* * *

They found Riku sitting by himself on the stairwell to the front lobby of the hotel.

He was no longer wearing the Organization's black jacket. Instead, he was in a pair of baggy faded jeans, a black turtleneck, and a white ski vest. If they didn't know their best friend so well, he would've blended in with any of the Traverse Town crowd.

Sora glanced at Kairi. They were still behind him, so he hadn't spotted them yet.

"What do we even say to him?" he whispered.

"I…" Kairi began, then faltered. "I don't know."

But Riku spoke then.

"Aw, c'mon, you guys. Stop trying to make this some dramatic sappy reunion."

He turned his head, his profile giving them a half-grin.

Sora let out a nervous little chuckle, and the two of them walked up and sat on either side of him on the stairwell, trying to stay out of the other patrons' ways.

They sat in silence for a little while. The babble of talk around them, the bustle of the town and the new arrivals drifting in, filled the void nicely, as the comfort of just being together again, for once, sank in.

"Hey…"

"We know," Sora cut him off. "If it'll kill you to say it, don't sweat it. You don't ever have to explain anything to us."

Riku glanced at him then, and Sora flashed him the stupidest grin he could muster. The older boy couldn't keep his straight face, and suddenly the three of them were laughing so loud that people walking by were beginning to stare.

Kairi let her head drop down onto Riku's shoulder and put an arm around him. "It's good to have you back."

"Yeah," Riku replied, as Sora's hand came down heavily on his shoulder.

"…I'm home, I guess."

* * *

WHOO! That's a relief to finally have down! I hope you guys enjoyed a slightly longer-than-usual chapter as an apology for how long it took to update. I would love, love, love some reviews! Thanks so much for reading and for your patience with me. You guys rock.

To be continued soon!


End file.
